A Broken Heart's Beat
by Chiyo Thyra
Summary: Severus Snape has been the Potions Master at Hogwarts for three years and is still deep in mourning of unrequited love. The role of mentor is thrust upon him, meaning he has to deal with the girl who has a knack for reviving things. Including hearts.
1. Chapter 1

**So I wasn't going to do this, but...guys, gals, give me some feedback. Let me know what I'm doing well and what I can improve on. It really helps me make a good story and meet some pretty awesome cats. **

**XoXo, ****Chi**

* * *

Evangeline Delacroix stared up the dark shadow of the castle she knew to be the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was a bit daunting to stand there at the front door, looking up to the school she had only been to once before. 

Years had passed since then of course. She only hoped that Horace Slughorn would feel gracious and grant her the request she had posed to Dumbledore about a week before via an owl that returned with an invitation to visit the school of magic, wonder, and, on occasion, danger.

"Hurry up, I ain't got all night," groused the ratty looking man she could only assume to be the night watchman. He had been waiting at the gates with a lantern to lead her to Dumbledore's hidden office. Without a word, she followed closely.

The man continued his grumblings as they walked, meaning he wasn't really paying attention to the guest and was more troubled by his own problems. A scruffy looking cat trotted alongside him, meowing loudly every so often as though to agree with him on a point he had made. That left Evangeline to study her surroundings.

It wasn't her first choice; that was for sure. The climate was not to her liking (far too cold) and neither was the décor (far too dreary). Of course, compared to her beloved Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Versailles would look dreary. And the warmth of Southern France! Oh, she missed it more then than when she had first graduated two years before!

The harsh grunt of "Fizzlers" brought her back to the then and there as a stone gargoyle jumped to one side and revealed the entrance to the Headmaster's office. As the man started up a stone staircase, Evangeline followed after him, her dark, auburn hair flowing behind her as her black robes whipped about her ankles.

That had always been her woe at Beauxbatons, the bright colors. Yes, they were lovely, but she much preferred a midnight black. It was elegant and mysterious and even romantic, in a sense. And besides, she looked much more fetching in it than a putrid green or baby blue.

Once more she was dragged rudely from her thoughts by a loud rapping on the door. "Yoo got a visitor, Dumbledore."

The door swung open fully, granting admittance to whoever had come calling. Her guide stepped back, holding out an arm to usher her into the room before her.

All at once the courage and self assuredness Evangeline had built up vanished and left a lump of dread settle hard in the pit of her stomach, making the acid there splash up and lick at the beginning of her esophagus. Swallowing back her nervousness, the young witch stepped into the large office and braced herself like a Prisoner of Azkaban awaiting sentencing before the Wizengamot.

There were only two other occupants in the room; one she recognized and the other she didn't.

Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk with his hands folded and bright blue eyes peering over the rim of his half-moon spectacles. His beard and hair seemed whiter than they had when she had glimpsed him at the European Wizarding Student Exchange which lasted only a single year. Then again, that came with age.

Slowly, Evangeline slid her cerulean gaze over the second man, much younger than Dumbledore. She would almost say he wasn't much older than herself, but there was something about him, something that made him almost as old as the Headmaster.

That man had seen more than any one person should.

It was clear in his piercing black eyes as he stood there, arms folded across his chest and glaring at her. His ebony hair was greasy and hung about his face like an badly kempt curtain in a theatre and contrasted sharply with his pallid complexion. He looked like death warmed over.

"Ah, Miss Delacroix. It is good to see you made it safely," said Dumbledore, his voice as kind and sagely as she recalled it.

Evangeline dipped her head in a polite greeting. Customarily, she would have kissed both of his cheeks, but decided against it. These Britons were an odd lot that didn't care much for affection. "Thank you for inviting me, Headmaster."

"Please," he raised a hand as though to stop her, "call me Albus."

His words brought a soft smile to her lips as she again inclined her head gratefully at the allowance. "Albus."

The raised hand motioned towards the dark-haired man standing irately to the side. "And this is our Potions Master, Severus Snape; your mentor."

"What?"

The response was simultaneous as the young pair gazed at the man in bewilderment. Apparently, Severus was just as ill-informed as she had been.

"Sir, I hardly think that I am qualified to mentor someone," Severus said, his tone trying to stress a point Evangeline knew nothing of and was apparently never to.

Albus shook his head, just as sagely as he always did. "Miss Delacroix seeks someone to train her in the art which is Potion making. You are a master, Severus, I feel that makes you more than qualified."

"Albus, what about Professor Slughorn? I would really be more comfortable studying at his hand than-"

"Than…?" Severus snapped defensively as he rounded on her suddenly, actually making her jump back. "Than what, Miss Delacroix? Do you even know me?"

Evangeline shook her head, making the auburn waves tremble about her face. The gesture seemed to make him calm down. His gaze was focused on her hair. "No, I don't. I was just going to suggest a more experienced professor. You don't seem to be much older than me."

Her voice came out softer and more timid than she had hoped it would. Swallowing hard, she straightened herself a bit and set her jaw in as determined a stance as she could muster. "Youth aside, if you are a master I would be honored to learn from you."

"Absolutely not."

"Severus."

"No, Dumbledore, I refuse. Why does she need me anyways?"

That statement replace the shyness of Evangeline with indignance.

"Who said I needed you?"

"Well if you're here at two in the morning begging for my assistance-!"

"I am not begging!"

Dumbledore watched with a bemused smile as the two before him bickered like small children. Normally he would have intervened, but this was the most life Severus had shown in months.

"Well, if you don't need my help…" Severus' voice was cold and almost…taunting.

Evangeline balled her fists in the folds of her robes and gritted her teeth to fight back the venomous words she wanted to sling at that pompous, arrogant whelp of a man. It was a hard task, but finally she got her temper tamped down and brought herself humble enough to do what she hadn't wanted to.

"Please, Professor Snape, I need documented training before the Salem Witches' Institute will let me have a job," she said softly, almost inaudibly.

Severus smirked as he stood there watching her with his arms still folded. It was a temporary victory though, the smirk faded and he was left with his usual dour expression. "I'm afraid I must still decline."

So that was it. Her dream of teaching shot down like a Yuletide fowl.

"Severus, teach the girl. It's not going to do you any harm. Besides, she's right pretty this one," stated a voice she couldn't recognize. It was probably one of the old headmasters that had been roused from sleep by their argument.

Severus frowned, but grudgingly looked her over again, studying her as though she were a rack of ribs for sale. After a long moment, he resigned himself with a simple, "Fine."

Turning on his heel, Severus Snape stormed out of the room. His dark robes billowed out about him, making him look like some giant bat.

Evangeline could feel her heart swell with joy and it was all she could do not to jump in school-girlish glee. Looking to Dumbledore, she saw that the old man was smiling softly to her.

"The house-elves have already brought your things to your room. Once you leave here, just follow the torches. A path has been lit for you by Filch," he stated in his kind, paternal tone.

Inclining her head to him a third time, the Beauxbatons girl left to settle into her new home close to the dungeons where she would be a "student-teacher" to Severus Snape.

_Goodness_, Dumbledore mused as his twinkling blue eyes followed Evangeline's departure, _Hogwarts is going to have an interesting year._


	2. Chapter 2

Dawn broke over the Forbidden Forest, bathing the grounds of Hogwarts in the golden glow of morning. It was amazing to the foreigner how the first rays of the sun could make the most dismal of places almost beautiful.

Evangeline brushed a lock of her fiery hair from her flushed cheeks and stared out over the waters of the Black Lake that spread out far below her. Her bare feet peeked from beneath her dark robes and dangled over the edge of the cliff she was perched on. It was a good place to just relax.

A gentle breeze tugged at the black and sapphire fabric of her clothing, like a lover coaxing her back to bed before the day really started. She couldn't though. At the moment she was too excited to sleep.

"Miss Delacroix."

Her spine went rigid as the voice cut through the air and filled her ears. Well, so much for a peaceful morning.

Turning, Evangeline worked to keep her features soft and stoic as her blue-grey gaze aligned with one of harsh ebony. "Hello, Professor Snape."

Severus had stood there watching her for close to five minutes. From behind she could pass as Lily Evans. For a moment, he had her back. At least he did before the girl turned her head enough for him to glimpse her features.

Evangeline's cheekbones were higher than Lily's and her eyebrows were a bit thicker. And her lips were fuller and her nose had a bump in it as though it had been broken years before.

Scowling at the young woman, Snape straightened himself in a holier-than-thou manner and narrowed his eyes on her. "What, pray tell, brings you out here at this hour?"

"I like watching the sun rise," Evangeline said calmly. Her eyes narrowed despite her placid tone, like she was challenging him, as her arms folded across her chest.

Though self trained to keep his focus on his prey's eyes, Severus was unable to stop himself from dragging his gaze over her as she moved. Her robes were like his in a way, buttoned up to the neck and down the arms, but where he wore a tunic, she wore a gown of black with a cerulean bodice to match her eyes.

They were almost the colors of Ravenclaw House. He wondered if she knew that. From what he had gathered, that would have been where she belonged.

Dumbledore had told him the night before that Evangeline had spent two years traveling the world and studying at the elbows of some of the greatest wizards. That her mother was Gabriella Delacroix, who many debated over whether she was crazy or a genius for her research on souls and spirits.

Not to mention the girl was sitting by herself on a cliff in the chilly morning. That seemed pretty odd to him.

Evangeline rose quickly to her feet, which he noticed were bare, and balled her hands into indignant fists. "Professor!"

He was taken aback by the sharp, offended tone she took. What had he done? Then it occurred to him; She thought he had been staring at her in something other than an analytical manner.

His eyebrows shot up and for a split second he was about to defend himself. Not that it would matter. He was a Death Eater, scum of the earth. Let her think what she wanted. Folding his hands behind his back, Severus cleared his throat. "You're to be in the dungeons one hour before class begins to prepare for the day."

"Yes, Professor."

The words rolled off her tongue almost venomously as she glared at him, an action that only brought a smirk to Snape's lips. Apparently, he found her anger amusing.

Brushing past him, Evangeline's robes billowed out about her, making her look like a bat as she stalked across the grounds and back to the castle. Though she made a much lovelier chiropteran than he did.


	3. Chapter 3

Rumors had a nasty habit of catching like wildfire in both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds which meant Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was no exemption.

All morning the only subject on the students', and faculty's, lips had been the mysterious stranger who showed up in the middle of the night and was escorted to Dumbledore's office by the caretaker, Argus Filch.

"It's probably one of Dumbledore's spies," said a boy with bright red hair and freckles in a nonchalant tone.

"Come on now, Charlie, why would Dumbledore have spies?" asked another boy who bore a striking resemblance to the first.

Charlie Weasley shrugged, "Then who do you think he was?"

"She," interjected Moira O'Connell, a first-year like Charlie. "The visitor was a girl."

"Oi, Bill, does Dumbledore have any family?"

The second boy, Bill Weasley, lowered the copy of the _Daily Prophet_ he held in his hands and looked to Charlie with a raised eyebrow. After a long moment he gave a shrug of his shoulders to his younger brother and resumed reading an article on Gringott's.

"You're no help," Charlie grumbled, turning his attention to the bowl of cold porridge before him. He really wasn't hungry.

Pushing the bowl back, he turned on the bench to talk to Moira who was sitting to his left braiding her long black hair as she read the backside of Bill's paper. "Who do you think she is?"

Moira shifted her gaze to her friend in a deliberate, almost dreamy, manner. "Who who is?"

Charlie visibly grimaced. He had met Moira on the Hogwarts Express and, since they were both first-years, shared a compartment and a box of Bertie Bott's. Since then he had come to realize several things about the girl:

She should have been in Ravenclaw, not Gryffindor, as far as he could tell.

She was very intelligent, wise, and creative.

She had the worst short-term memory loss problem he had ever heard of.

"The visitor, Moira."

"Hm? Oh! The girl. Well, what would bring one to a school in the middle of the night?"

"Beats me. I barely remember why I come in the day."

Moira giggled. "A light in the night needs someone to keep watch on the wick or it will burn itself out."

Charlie stared blankly at her. There were times that she reminded him of a Muggle fortune cookie.

"You two should probably head along. Professor Snape's tough and you're almost running late," came Bill's placid voice from behind the barrier of newsprint.

Rising from her seat, Moira slung her bag over her shoulder and tugged at Charlie's sleeve. "Let's go!"

He almost expected her to go skipping off ahead of him, but she didn't. Moira lingered until he had grudgingly pulled himself up and headed off for the dungeons.

As was to be expected of a dungeon, it was dark, dank, and smelled funny. What caught Charlie off guard though were the voices drifting from out from the classroom.

"Professor, I believe that using a viper's fang is over-doing it a smidgen."

"Miss Delacroix, you are here to learn, not advise."

Through a crack in the door, Charlie could glimpse the bat-like Snape and a redheaded woman he had never seen before.

Miss Delacroix, as she had been called, was rather lovely despite the frown she wore and the way she had her hands on her hips. She reminded him of his mother in that stance.

Accompanying the frown was a look of "Fine, but I warned you" on her features which turned into a smug smile as the dungeon shook with a loud "bang."

Charlie couldn't help him as he and Moira stood crowded in front of the ajar door and burst into laughter.

Snape's dour face was smudged with soot and bits of something that looked like a spider. Hearing the laughter from outside the door, the potions master flicked his wand and sent it flying open, revealing the two spies.

"Weasley!"

Charlie cringed and thought to flee, but before the thought even occurred to him, he was being dragged into the dungeon by the collar of his robes by a furious Snape.

"That's twenty points from Gryffindor for sticking your freckled snout where it is not meant to be," hissed the Professor as he released the boy halfway down the aisle.

Miss Delacroix watched over the greasy man's shoulder from the front of the room where she had set to cleaning up his mess. She looked as though she felt sorry for Charlie and offered him a kind smile while Snape wasn't looking.

"I know her," came Moira's dreamy voice as she drifted in after her friend. Setting her bag down on a table, she took a seat in the middle of the room. Charlie followed.

"You do?"

"Yeah, she's the visitor. Oh, and a fairy princess."

"Silence!" snapped Snape, turning to glare at his students before disappearing into his office.

Charlie frowned. A fairy princess? Now he was sure that Moira was quite mad.


	4. Chapter 4

Snape began the class with his usual pleasantries, taking only a moment to acknowledge the redheaded woman seated at his desk.

"This is Miss Delacroix," he said through clenched teeth. "Miss Delacroix will be joining our classes for the remainder of the year, observing the class and…occasionally teaching it."

Miss Delacroix gave a warm smile to the class and inclined her head to them. That only deepened Snape's scowl.

Charlie yawned as he faded in and out of the professor's lecture on the uses of snake fangs. He would have much preferred double Care of Magical Creatures to this.

Every so often he found his gaze sliding over to Moira, had a quill in her braid, making her look like some deranged breed of peacock. The sight of her made him want to laugh, but he refrained. No need to draw attention to himself.

Instead he decided to take the time and study the student teacher, Miss Delacroix.

She was tall for a woman, about five-foot-nine or so with hair so deep a shade of auburn that it was almost black in the dim lighting of the dungeon. For the most part she kept her gaze locked to a book before her, something on potions, no doubt, so he did not know what color her eyes were for nearly three days.

It was day that he didn't have to worry about Potions and was relaxing in the courtyard with Moira, Bill, a friend of Bill's who was a fifth year, and two other first years.

Miss Delacroix had hurried from the direction of the library towards the dungeons, several books tucked under her arm. The black and green of her robes fluttered behind her in the breeze, trailing along after her with her hair.

"Right nice pair, the two of them make," muttered one of the other first years, a tall, lanky boy by the name of Roy Jordan.

"I don't know," said Bill's friend who could have been a Weasley himself. "She's beautiful. Snape's about as pretty as a boar's backside."

A ripple of laughter went through the group. Well, save for Moira who was lost in her own thoughts.

"That's the truth, Thomas," Bill stated lightly, nodding his agreement.

As the others continued with their remarks on Snape's physical appearance, Charlie watched Miss Delacroix. There was something unusual about the woman that he just couldn't put his finger on.

As the young woman disappeared around a corner, Charlie caught sight of a handful of papers slipping from one of her books and fluttering to the ground. Out of instinct, he hopped up and rushed to gather them up.

Papers in hand, Charlie rushed down the corridor after Miss Delacroix. "Miss Delacroix!"

She stopped and turned, looking to him curiously. Recognizing the younger Weasley, her features softened with a smile. "Hello, Charlie. May I help you?"

Silence was returned to her as Charlie just stared at her.

Her eyes were breathtaking. They were a blue to rival the most brilliant of sapphires, but at the same time were made lighter by a grey tint. It was a color that reminded him of a stormy sea.

"Charlie?"

"Oh, yes," he cleared his throat, trying not to reveal how embarrassed he was at having her catch him staring at her. "You dropped these."

Evangeline took the pieces of parchment with a relieved smile. "Thank you so much. Professor Snape would have been in a charming mood if I had lost these."

Charlie chuckled. "I wasn't aware that Snape had enough of a personality to have moods."

She bit her lip so not to laugh at the comment even though she quite agreed with the boy on that. Severus Snape had one demeanor every hour of every day; sour.

"Maybe the next time I award you detention, Weasley, I'll try to do so with a more spirited tone."

Both Charlie and Evangeline jumped at the sound of Snape's voice.

Evangeline frowned as she turned to look at her mentor. She hated how the man just showed up out of no where like he did. It was creepy beyond words.

"Run along, Mr. Weasley," the Potions professor said in his flat tone, waving the boy away as his piercing black eyes fell on Evangeline.

Unlike most, she didn't back down from him. She only held his gaze evenly.

In that moment, Charlie saw something pass between the two that he couldn't explain or understand. Finally, Snape scowled and turned on his heel, retreating for his dank dungeons.

Miss Delacroix looked down to Charlie with a fond smile and incline of her head. "Thank you again, Charlie. I'll see you in class. Oh, and don't forget about the essay on nettles."

With that, the dark-haired woman parted his company, trailing after her mentor and leaving Charlie to return to his friends.


	5. Chapter 5

It was around Halloween when Snape began to notice things about the girl that were out of the ordinary.

For instance, during a class discussion on the uses of the intestines of horned toads he had brought out an example that had been deceased for several days. Halfway through the lecture an ear piercing screech erupted from the front of the classroom where Evangeline sat.

Severus had spun around so quickly that he narrowly missed hitting his knee on a nearby cauldron. His normally dour expression turned curious as he watched his redheaded apprentice.

Her face was flushed in embarrassment and frustration as she tried to silence the creature that screamed at her in the worst of agony. If he wasn't mistaken, he could see tears welling in her eyes. Sympathy for the miserable creature on the desk before her.

His lips pulled into a frown behind his rough goatee. That lizard had been dead not ten seconds ago.

Hurrying back to her aid, Severus took up a cutting knife and sank it into the horned toad's heart. It twitched a few times before going limp on the wooden desktop.

The students stared in wonder for several long moments before their professor barked their homework to them and dismissed class for the afternoon. They didn't question him and hurriedly did as they were told.

Soon it was only Severus and Evangeline.

"I'm sorry, Professor," she whispered to him without looking up.

Snape folded his arms irately and watched her, debating on whether or not he should pursue the subject of the reanimated reptile. After all, it wasn't every day that dead animals popped back into the world of the living in the middle of his class.

Deciding to go with the latter choice, the dark-haired man swept away from her and into his cell-like office without so much as a word to her.

Evangeline had been rather stunned that Severus had just left her be. That was completely out of character for the professor. Of course, it did give her a reprieve so who was she to question him?

Of course, by the end of the day word had gotten out and Evangeline had to bear the stares of frightened and intrigued students.

Snape, though, never mentioned it. Or any of the other instances.

Like withered flowers in McGonagall's office that revitalized just as the raven she had found on the cliffs early one morning did.

There was once that even Fawkes, the day before his burning, re-grew his feathers and looked as majestic as ever.

Every time something made a miraculous recovery, it was found to have spent an amount of time in Evangeline's presence.

It became the talk of the school which brought several theories to light. The most popular of which was that Evangeline Delacroix was a necromancer from the Far East.

Bill, Charlie, and Moira often had discussions on the subject. Bill always disagreed with her being a necromancer, while Charlie was sure that it was the only real explanation.

"You can't really believe that."

"And just why not, Sir-Lord-Knows-It-All?" asked Charlie heatedly as Bill captured his bishop. He hated how his brother could always best him at Wizard's Chess.

Bill passed Charlie a droll stare as he was apt to do. "First of all, she's not Asian. Secondly, necromancy is not bringing the dead to life. Necromancy is a form of divination from ancient Greece. It's just calling on spirits."

The younger Weasley stuck his tongue out as rebuttal to Bill's statement.

"That's real mature, Charlie."

"I'm twelve. Leave me be."

"Checkmate."


	6. Chapter 6

The door slammed hard enough to rattle the bottles on the shelves behind her.

Evangeline balled her fists and grit her teeth in anger. It took all the control she had to not go back in and let that insufferable man have it.

Since school had started she and Severus had established a grudging truce with one another to make the months bearable. For the most part, they had been able to stick to it and live in relative harmony. At least until Christmas had approached.

She was going to take a trip into Hogsmeade to buy gifts for a few of the faculty that had been helping her since her arrival to show her appreciation. Before leaving though, she had stopped by her mentor's office.

"Professor Snape?" she asked as she rapped on the door with her knuckles.

"What is it?"

Evangeline frowned. Severus sounded grouchier than usual.

Sliding her hand down the door, she grasped the handle and pushed on the heavy oak wood to force it open. She always had trouble opening the heavy door, even now after all this time she had found the only way to get in was to use her weight against it. "Professor, I-"

"Don't!"

Too late. Evangeline had opened the door and entered the room. She stopped just a couple of steps inside and froze in surprise.

Severus jumped to his feet quickly, his hand moving to cover the image before him even though Evangeline had already seen it. He could feel his stomach knot in dread and face flush in fury.

"Who told you that you were allowed to barge into my private quarters?" he hissed darkly.

For the first time, the dense girl backed down from him. Good.

"I just…"

Her voice trailed off as her eyes focused on the obscured image beneath his hand.

It was of a woman. A rather lovely woman, actually, with flaming red hair and dazzling green eyes.

The picture seemed to be several years old, taken on a Quidditch pitch with two other girls and a tall and broad shouldered boy with blonde hair. But there was no trace of a young Snape in the photo.

"Who is she?" Evangeline asked suddenly.

For a moment, all that was sour and dark about Severus Snape melted away, exposing a side of his that Evangeline never would have thought existed. He looked tender, vulnerable…human.

Of course, as soon as he realized his guard had dropped, all the ugly returned. Severus was once again Professor Snape.

"That's none of your concern."

His spine went rigid as he watched her through narrowed eyes, challenging her to keep inquiring.

Evangeline's brow furrowed a bit as she stared at him, her hand still on the handle of the door. Well, the Human Snape was a short lived experience, now wasn't it?

Since he had given her the courtesy of not asking about the horned toad some months before, she chose not to pursue the subject of the woman in the picture.

"I was going into Hogsmeade," she said softly. "I was curious as to whether you'd like to come with me or not."

Severus didn't reply. He just blinked. Astonished. Had she just asked him to join her? No one asked Severus to go anywhere with them. Only Lily…

Clearing his throat, the Potions Professor righted himself and slipped the picture under his palm into an open drawer which he promptly locked. "Enlighten me; why in Merlin's robes would I want to go anywhere with you?"

That stung a little more than it should have.

"I just didn't want you to have to spend Christmas alone. That's all," Evangeline replied softly.

Severus frowned. Why did she sound like his words had hurt her? Surely she had gotten used to his cold demeanor by now.

"Miss Delacroix," he started, his arms folding across his chest. "I have observed the winter holidays by myself for a number of years and will keep that tradition going. Now, if you're done wasting my time, please leave."

Her expression of sadness was quickly replaced with the frustration he was accustomed to seeing. "My apologies, Professor. Have a good afternoon."

With that the young woman stormed out, slamming the door behind her and causing some of the potions on the table by the door to teeter dangerously.

Severus fell into his chair to slump over his desk. His arms had unfolded from their arrogant positioning to rest in his lap. He suddenly felt nauseous. More troubling than the threat of being sick was the realization that he had not felt that way since the time he had called Lily Evans a "Mudblood."

And he couldn't explain why.


	7. Chapter 7

She did it.

She shouldn't have.

But she did.

Of course, the pensieve on the desk was too tempting to pass up. Especially when it belonged to Severus Snape; the man who was so cold that he nearly suffocated her own natural warmth just by being in the same room.

Christmas Eve was supposed to be a time of cheer and goodwill. Not with him. Christmas only seemed to worsen Severus' mood and, in turn, hers.

And then he had gone and snapped at her like that, just for trying to be a friend to him. It was almost like Severus didn't want anyone to care for him.

Evangeline had tried to shrug him off, to say "to Hell with him" pretty much, but found she couldn't. She could sense pain and guilt in the man that was slowly eating him alive.

"What could have happened to you?" she whispered to herself as she pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and left for Hogsmeade.

* * *

Two hours later the young witch returned to the dungeons, arms laden with gifts. Severus was nowhere to be seen, so she set the presents to wrapping themselves in the classroom while she took the chance to learn more about her mentor. 

Surprisingly, his office wasn't enchanted to turn her into chipmunk, or something to that effect, which meant she could slip in and do some digging. She had made the decision as she looked through an assortment of candies in Honeydoukes to find out what made Severus Snape who he was. What had he been through in his life? Why was he such a grouch?

Evangeline had barely entered the room when she saw it sitting there on his desk.

The pensieve. The one glimpse she may ever get into his mind.

Closing the door behind her, the young woman stepped forward to examine the stone basin more closely. It had been carved with runes and other arcane symbols she didn't quite recognize and held a material not quite like any other. Silvery and wispy, like the wind had been made more corporeal.

She was a little hesitant at first. After all, she wouldn't want anyone to prowl her memories. A second later though, she shrugged off that feeling and took in a deep breath before submerging her face in the pensieve.

* * *

That was how he found her. Leaning over his desk with her face in the pensieve he had borrowed from Dumbledore. 

His initial reaction was rage at the violation of his privacy. The second reaction was disbelief at her audacity. Then finally, he felt a sort of respect for the bravery she displayed with the foolish act.

Black robes billowing, Severus took three giant strides forward and grasped a handful of her dark auburn hair.

"What do you think you're doing?" he bellowed as he jerked the girl up.

Evangeline sputtered at the suddenness of her removal and reached to tear his hand free from her hair. "Let go!"

Every muscle in his arm tensed, blatant refusal of her demand, as his black, furious gaze swept over her face, like he was expecting her answer to be written there.

Her cheeks were flushed a brilliant rose and there were teeth marks on her lower lip. Why had she been biting herself? To muffle any sounds she made? And were those…tear trails?

For the first time Severus could recall since his childhood, he felt himself soften. Releasing his painful hold on Evangeline, the Potions master took a step back, his features not betraying the raw, rough emotions he felt. "Get out."

Evangeline nodded silently and turned her back to him, rushing from the office. She had known there would be hell to pay if he caught her. She knew it was a mistake. But it had been worth it. She had seen things that no doubt no other being, living or dead, had known about Severus Snape.

Her legs deemed that her mind was not functioning rationally and worked of their own accord, carrying the body attached to them as far away from the dungeons as they could manage. It was on the cliffs she had grown so fond of that Evangeline collapsed to her knees in the snow with a loud "crunch" of the fine ice.

Her eyes burned with unshed tears and her stomach threatened to empty its content if she didn't get a grip on herself. She couldn't though.

Not yet.

Evangeline doubled over when her head began to throb in pain. Why had she thought that she wanted to know the dark past of her mentor? Why?

An abusive, neglective family. His only love wedding his arch enemy. The one man he had faith in killing said love.

Not even Dumbledore had cared for him.

The tears that threatened to pour held fast to their oath and spilled over her cheeks which were made red from empathy and the biting cold of December. Her cloak fanned out about her on the snow, making her look like a broken black spider on an ivory doily. Hopefully, no one who see her despite the fact she was clearly visible with the contrasting colors.

Her hands gripped her arms, her nails digging into the soft triceps hidden by the thick fabric of her clothing as she hugged herself.

This is how Severus felt. This is what he wanted to do, but never did for the sake of saving face and the fear that if he let his guard down enough to grieve, he would never survive the breakdown to follow.

"Oh, Severus…I'm so sorry…"

There was no one to answer her though. No arms to hold her and comfort her, no other voice to soothe her. Her words were just a whispered sob on the wintry winds.


	8. Chapter 8

"Have you noticed it?"

"Noticed what?"

"Miss Delacroix and Snape."

Charlie shook his head, making his brother roll his eyes.

"You know, now that you mention it, Professor Snape has been grouchier since we came back from the holidays," Moira commented, her voice as dreamy as always.

The three of them were seated in the Gryffindor Common Room; Charlie in an overstuffed armchair by the fire, Moira on a loveseat to the left of him, and Bill directly in front of her in the floor.

Beneath her skirt, Moira wore bright, rainbow striped leggings that were currently framing Bill's torso. She was busy braiding the Weasley's boy's long, carrot-red hair, something that would have sent Molly batty.

Charlie just shook his head at the absurd calmness of the whole scene. "I guess he has, but what about Miss Delacroix?"

"Does she not seem more…subdued to you?" Bill asked, tilting his head to look at his brother, only to have Moira jerk him back around by his hair.

"Stop moving," she commanded.

"Sorry."

Charlie's brow furrowed as he thought about the elder boy's words. Now that he thought about it, Miss Delacroix didn't quite seem like herself.

Normally, Miss Delacroix had a gentle smile for everyone, even those nasty Slytherin gits. She was always warm and nice to everyone. The woman was a saint, but then again, she'd have to be to deal with Snape, who she often went against for the students, on a daily basis.

Something had changed over the winter break though. It was as apparent as Hagrid in a leprechuan colony. Since school had resumed, Miss Delacroix had become distant and distracted. She barely smiled and when she did it was only a ghost of the one she used to give freely. And she never spoke out against her mentor. She only did as he said and did so without sass or complaint.

"You don't think he Imperioused her, do you?" Charlie asked.

Bill shrugged and Moira frowned.

"I don't think Professor Snape would do that to Miss Delacroix," she replied.

"Why not? He was a Death Eater." There was an indignant note in Charlie's tone.

This time the dark-haired girl was the one to roll her eyes. "Professor Snape would never do such a thing to her."

"Again; why not?"

Moira merely giggled and tied the end of Bill's braid off with a piece of black leather.

Charlie hated when she did that. It always gave him the nagging feeling that she knew something he didn't and he wouldn't even be able to guess what it was.

Not to mention how it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Sometimes that girl was just too creepy.

"I have to agree with Moira. I highly doubt that Snape would do anything to harm Miss Delacroix," Bill said, nodding his head in an almost sagely manner. "They normally seem to get along well enough."

"Yeah, but what if he finally got tired of her standing up to him? What if he hurt her?" The thought made Charlie's blood boil.

"Charlie, Severus Snape would die before he harmed Evangeline Delacroix," Moira stated assuredly, her fingers now busy weaving her own hair into a thick plait. "He just doesn't know that yet."


	9. Chapter 9

February the fourteenth. The most wicked day out of the year.

Severus Snape's scowl had deepened if that were possible. If there was one ridiculous holiday that he hated above all others, it was what the Muggles called Valentine's Day.

A day filled with silly notions of love and romance. Sweet notes and stolen kisses in the halls…

It made him positively sick.

In a rush he flew down to the dungeons, past a couple of students who thought they were hidden by the shadows. Revolting. Normally he would have broke them up, taken points from their respective houses and possibly given them detentions.

Today though, he didn't care. He just wanted to get away from it all; to lock himself away to make battling his grief and envy an easier task.

The door to his classroom was ajar, something he didn't usually do. Maybe Evangeline had returned.

That silly girl had left earlier in the morning to go collect thistles from a moor just over a hill past Hogsmeade. It was supposed to be an all day trip, but maybe she had finished early.

The thought of Evangeline only darkened his mood. He had yet to forgive her for the intrusion on his mind and memories. It terrified him that she was the only person to know him that intimately.

Not even Lily had known so much about him.

Severus put his hand against the heavy wood door, preparing to throw it open in his usual fashion. He faltered though when he heard singing.

"_Oh I wish I were on yonder hill. 'Tis where I'd sit and cry my fill, 'till ere…"_

He wasn't able to make out the final words of the line, neither did he know the meaning of those in the chorus. They sounded Irish though.

Funny; the French girl was singing an Irish folk song. And in such a pure, clear voice at that. It made him think of the angels Lily used to tell him about during their exchanges as children.

The hand that had been thrown out to violently fling open the door, gently pushed. The wood had been worn smooth by the countless hands of students over the centuries. With the crack in the door, Severus was able to hear the song much better and even catch a glimpse of the siren singing it.

"_I'll dye my petticoats, I'll dye them red. Around the world I'll beg my bread 'till both my parents wished I were dead…"_

Evangeline continued her song, completely unaware of her audience. She seemed to be absorbed by her work.

Set before her on a table was a small, black cauldron that could have been older than Dumbledore. She seemed to be casting miscellaneous ingredients into it, but that was only to the untrained eye. He knew exactly what she was making. He just didn't know why.

Severus was almost reluctant to open the door and step into the room he had come to know so well, but finally brought himself to do so. It was really the only place that felt like home.

"And what, pray tell, might you be doing, Miss Delacroix," he asked coldly in greeting.

The redhead jumped, startled at being caught mid-song. A blush the hue of the reddest rose crept over her cheeks. "Refining my art."

Severus didn't relax any; his spine remained rigid and his eyes piercing. Boy, his mother chose his name wisely.

"With a love potion?"

"It's not a love potion. I'm not done with it yet."

A flicker of curiosity caught in his black eyes at her answer. "Please, carry on."

Evangeline nodded to her mentor and continued with what she was doing. Well, the potion part of it. She didn't dare take up singing again while Severus was in the room with her.

Intrigued, Severus moved forward to watch over her shoulder. He had never before seen the ingredients she was using in anything but a mild love potion. Thistles, dragonfly wings, wild rose thorns, mermaid scales, and honeysuckle…that's what she smelled like.

The observation startled him. Why was he paying attention to her scent? Of course, he was standing right behind her, close enough that the hem of her robes brushed his ankles when she moved.

He hadn't noticed before, but her hair looked to be as soft as the finest of Asian silks. It was inviting, but he kept his hands inside his robes.

His breath was warm as it fell on her shoulder and neck, left bare by the cut of her gown. It was distracting, much like his overall presence, but somehow she managed to deal with it…for the most part. After all, it wasn't easy to ignore the heat produced by a body hovering inches from ones own.

Swallowing, Evangeline took a small wooden box from a basket and extracted a single wiry hair. It was the whisker of an Asian water dragon, a breed that died out centuries ago.

"Evangeline..."

Evangeline jumped at the sound of her name being said by Severus. She couldn't remember him ever using her given name before. The action of her jumping in surprise caused the hair to slip into the cauldron and dissolved with a loud, resounding bang.

Throwing her arms over her face to protect it, Evangeline took a step backwards, towards safety.

She fell directly against her mentor.


	10. Chapter 10

Severus' hands instinctively reached to clutch her upper arms, helping her keep her balance and both of them from toppling over. He only succeeded in holding her firmly against him.

Evangeline heard a soft hiss emit from the professor, making her lower her forearms enough to gaze up to him over her shoulder. She hadn't realized just how much he towered over her.

"Yes, Professor?" she whispered, unsure of what to do. Severus had her all but pinned against his chest which she discovered was surprisingly solid with muscle. Probably from the years he had spent as a Death Eater doing the hard work the Dark Lord had assigned him.

The sound of her voice seemed to rouse him from whatever trance he had been in. All too soon he was aware of what he was doing and withdrew from the young woman quickly, like a snake recoiling to strike. He had forgotten what he was about to say to her.

The girl just stood there, staring in apparent wonder.

"What is that potion you're making?" he asked, his voice as cold and hateful as ever while his black eyes peered into the now empty cauldron.

Evangeline was disappointed to find his dark demeanor return and quickly snapped herself back to reality. All good things must come to an end though, she supposed. "It was a spell of protection."

Severus' narrowed gaze grew even more so until his eyes were no more than slits in his face. "It appears to me that it failed, Miss Delacroix."

"I suppose so." She much preferred he use her first name, but didn't express such. He would only sneer and cut her down somehow.

His eyes scanned Evangeline's work area and then her one more time before turning on his heel to go hide in his office. That had been too close a call with the girl.

"Clean up your mess," Severus commanded just before the heavy door closed behind him.

Evangeline sighed and brushed a strand of her dark, fiery hair from her face. She could still feel her heart beating wildly in her chest.

It worked. Not the way she had intended it to, but it worked none the less.

Dumbledore was the one to request the potion she had just made. He had said that he had a friend who was desperately in need of protection and only that particular potion would do.

The potion would remain liquid until the final ingredient was added; the dragon whisker. Only then would it take on a corporeal form, much like a Patronus. The whisker itself was to be added to the mix only by the person who loved the one being protected more than their own life.

That was what had set Evangeline's heart to threatening implosion.

She had been the one to drop the whisker into the potion.

The potion had taken on the form of a unicorn, the same as her Patronus.

The unicorn had galloped at Severus the moment he moved away from Evangeline.

Severus wouldn't have seen it. That was the magic of the spell: Only she could see it take place. No other would have been witness to what just happened, but that was fine.

She was the only person who needed to know that she, Evangeline Delacroix, was in love with Severus Snape and didn't even know how it had happened.

* * *

The rug that thinly covered the cold stone of the dungeon floor was shown no mercy as Severus paced to and fro across it. What had just happened? 

One minute he was furious beyond words with the girl and then the next he had wanted…Bah! Lust.

Lust was what had just taken a hold on him. So many years without the touch of a woman, one he loved or not, had taken its toll. Yeah, that was it. That was what had happened.

But how did that explain how his heart beat rebelliously against his ribcage? Sure, lust explained why his body ached at the absence of her warmth, but his heart hadn't pumped as it was doing since the first time he had laid eyes on Lily Evans.

Severus scowled and a jar of pickled slugs exploded on the far wall.

Suddenly he paused. That girl had the gift of resurrection. Had she somehow brought to life a heart that died on Halloween nearly four years ago?

No, no, no, that was ridiculous. This wretched holiday had forced his mind to think that absurd notions of love and hope were real.

Falling into the chair behind his desk, the Potions master drummed his fingers irately on a book of Mythological Creatures on his desktop.

Hypothetically speaking though, if Evangeline Delacroix could bring the dead to life then what was the extent of her powers?


	11. Chapter 11

The end of the term was fast approaching which seemed to brighten Snape's mood.

"Of course he's in a better mood. He only has three weeks left of teaching and then he doesn't have to see any of us for two whole months," Bill remarked across the library table.

For once, his words weren't directed to his usual two companions. Instead it was directed to the second year girl Charlie had taken a liking to. She was a pretty enough girl with brown eyes and pale blonde hair, but she was rather dreamy.

And not in the endearing manner that Moira possessed. Rosalinda Browning was just a ditz.

"I still think it has something to do with Miss Delacroix," Rosalinda said in a voice so syrupy sweet, Bill swore he felt one of his teeth rot.

"Miss Delacroix?" Charlie asked, finally drifting into the conversation. He had been rather lost in concentration on a book about Dragonology before that name had been brought up.

Bill had only recently noticed how his younger brother had a fascination with the young teacher. Of course, Charlie vehemently denied having a crush on Miss Delacroix.

He would almost say that Rosalinda was revenge on Bill for ever having mentioned it. Bill couldn't stand the girl. Neither could Moira, but Moira never said anything against or to her.

"Yeah. It's like Beauty and Beast," the blonde said cheerily with a dreamy sigh. "Very romantic."

Charlie burst into deafening laughter which made his girlfriend scowl.

"Snape…romantic…" He could barely rasp out between laughs that made his sides ache.

Even Bill grinned. He had to agree that "Snape" and "romantic" were less compatible than a Death Eater at a theme park.

A feathered stick cracked Charlie across the back of his skull.

"This is a library. Not the Shrieking Shack," snapped Madam Pince as she passed by the foursome.

Charlie, Bill, and Rosalinda muttered an apology. Moira, however, was busy peeking through some books on the shelf behind her.

"Well, Charlie, I have to get to Herbology," Rosalinda said with a smile as she gathered her things.

Charlie seemed disappointed. Bill was nonchalantly ecstatic.

With a peck to a freckled cheek, the Hufflepuff girl vanished from the library.

"Charlie, if you never do another thing for me in your life, please break up with her," Bill said, once Rosalinda was out of earshot. "You're too young to have a girlfriend anyway."

Charlie rolled his eyes and went back to his book.

"I didn't know Professor Snape liked to read," Moira piped up suddenly, startling both Weasleys. Until then, she had been silent.

"I didn't know he left the dungeons," responded Charlie as he shifted to where Moira sat. "You think he'd have discovered the bath room if he had."

Bill, who was against eavesdropping and spying, turned in his seat as well to look through the hole that missing books made.

In the next aisle stood the figure draped all in black that was instantly recognizable as the Potions professor.

He had taken a small, leather-bound book from the shelf and had cracked it open to skim the pages. The literature was so old that the title had been worn off the cover.

Moira squinted to get a better look and pulled back with a soft smile when she had.

The younger of the Weasleys had caught the gesture and had opened his mouth to ask her what had spurred it only to be cut off by a loud "whump".

* * *

Severus scowled at the intrusion on his reading. With the book still open in his hands, the professor slid his irate, black gaze towards the source of the noise.

What he found was a young witch in emerald robes on her knees and trying to gather the mass of papers scattered on the floor. Great. Just who he had been trying to escape.

For once she wasn't wearing her thick black cloak, which made it apparent that her gown was designed to be backless down to her waist. Not that it mattered any; her hair was just nearly long enough to make up for the missing fabric. With her head bent though, the dark auburn locks fell over her shoulders and left the skin of her back visible.

He was rather shocked to see thin, jagged scars spider-webbing from her spine.

Taking his wand from his robes, Severus pointed to the remaining papers which instantly jumped into a single pile. Quickly, he replaced the wand and walked over to where Evangeline was still kneeling.

He wasn't sure who was more surprised when he held out his hand; himself or her.

"You should try and be more graceful, Miss Delacroix," Severus said in a deadpan tone.

Ah, there was the Professor Snape she knew.

Evangeline gave a soft laugh as she took the hand offered to her. "I'll get straight to that, Professor."

Then there was silence. It wasn't the usual awkward or angry silence either, something passed between them. Evangeline wished she knew what it was though.

Severus' piercing eyes bore into hers, as though he were trying to locate her very soul. It only a moment though for him to realize he was still touching her.

As she had known he would do, he released the hold he had on her hand and took a step back. What she hadn't expected was the slight look of surprise on his face.

For a moment, Severus could have sworn that Evangeline appeared to be sorry at the loss of his touch. No, he had mistaken it. Had to of.

Clearing his throat, Snape inclined his head to the young witch. "Have a good afternoon. I will see you at dinner. And thirty points from Gryffindor for spying, Weasley."

With that, the dark-haired man swept out of the library, leaving Evangeline looking to the gape in the bookshelf with a wry, yet wistful, smile.

She lingered only a moment for leaving as well, stopping only long enough to take her cloak off the back of a nearby chair.

* * *

"I hate it when he does that," Charlie muttered, returning to his own chair.

Bill shrugged. "At least he didn't hex you."

"You know, Rosalinda's right. They are like Beauty and the Beast," came the warm, dreamy voice at Bill's side. Moira was still staring through the hole.

"Well," Bill began thoughtfully, "Professor Snape is rather beastly."

"That's for damn sure."

"Shush!"

Charlie grimaced as he was once again smacked with Madam Pince's feather duster.

Bill tried to contain his chuckles. "I wonder what Professor Snape had been reading though."

"A Muggle book. Pride and Prejudice," Moira supplied.

This time, Madam Pince whacked both Weasleys before throwing them out on their bottoms.


	12. Chapter 12

Finally.

The long awaited moment.

The day that Severus Snape looked forward to all year.

The last day of the term.

Almost gleefully the Potions Master reclined in his worn-out armchair that sat behind his desk, his hands folded across his stomach.

For two whole months he'd be free of the worthless, dim-witted students that passed through his classroom. Of course, Dumbledore would still be using him as the Order of the Phoenix's "go-for" man. But at least he wouldn't have to deal with the frustrations of teaching.

One frustration in particular was leaving for good. And he wasn't quite sure whether he was glad of it or not.

Evangeline Delacroix. The girl with flaming red hair and, he would admit, a talent for making potions. In retrospect, there were a few good things about her.

She was kind and good natured, gentle and intelligent. Of course, she was nosy and had a temper that he had invoked a time or two, but that was to be expected. He had been downright nasty to her more than what she deserved. But she was just so damn perfect!

She reminded him of Lily.

Severus released a tired breath and leaned forward to open the drawer of his desk that held one of his most treasured possessions. The photograph of his one true friend.

Lily Evans had been an angel. From the time they were children until they were teenagers, Evans had always been at Severus' back, willing to defend and protect him. Something that not even his own parents had cared to do.

"I miss you," he whispered poignantly to the brightly smiling girl who was teasing her friend in the picture. "I miss you more than you could imagine."

A knock on the door made Severus slam the drawer shut quickly. After that mishap with Delacroix he didn't take chances anymore. "Come in."

Slowly the door creaked open and who other than his student teacher cautiously poked her head into the office.

"You're up late," Evangeline remarked, coming fully into the room. She was wearing that thick cloak again.

One of the things that was refreshing, yet infuriating, about her was that she fall for his intimidation tactics, which was proven by the casual tone in which she spoke to him. Only a few times had the girl cowed from him, but that still wasn't intimidation. That had been guilt.

Severus snorted and focused his steely black gaze to her. "Celebrating. What do you want?"

Evangeline only smiled softly and walked to his desk. No, correction; she glided.

"I need you to sign these papers verifying that have served a year as your apprentice."

She even sounded like Lily when she spoke. Articulate and warm.

Holding his hand out, Severus took the papers and quickly scribbled his signature to the bold line at the bottom of the parchment. It bore the crest of the Salem Witches' Institute as its header.

"There," he said gruffly, thrusting the papers at her.

"Thank you," came Evangline's genuinely grateful response.

She took the papers in a gentle hold and tried to pull them back. Severus wouldn't let go.

"Miss Delacroix," Snape began, his voice frigid and inquiring. "What caused the scars on your back?"


	13. Chapter 13

Evangeline's warm smile faltered at the question. "That's a rather personal question, Professor."

"You know about my past, Miss Delacroix, and gained that knowledge without my consent. I'm doing you a favor by asking outright."

A frown tugged at the girl's full rosy lips. Just the sight of them set his heart to beating wildly again. Damn self-imposed celibacy.

"I'd rather not disclose that information, Professor," she responded.

Severus smirked. "That bad, hm?"

"Yes."

"Well, in that case far be it from me to force you to relive the experience. No need to spoil the evening."

His hand relinquished its grasp on the parchment, making Evangeline's crash to her bosom and the papers rustle. "Thank you, Professor."

Inclining her head to him, Evangeline turned and started for the door. She had just reached it when she had built her confidence back up.

Since dinner the previous evening, the young witch had been trying to talk herself into telling Severus that she cared for him. That despite his foul attitude and greasy hair, she loved him.

Every time she did though, she cut herself down by pointing out how ridiculous that sounded.

She had known Severus Snape for ten months, almost a full year. She had seen the darker sides of him and she had seen the events, second hand of course, that had made him the man he was. Those memories she had trespassed on had created an intimate yet fragile bond between the two.

There was good in Severus that few knew of. That was why she loved him.

"Evangeline."

Her name in his voice sent a chill down her spine.

"Yes?" she asked, turning back to face him.

At some point in the few seconds since he had given her back the parchment, Severus had climbed to his feet and come around his desk.

Evangeline's heart leapt into her chest. Was he going to keep her from leaving?

"I…have another question."

All too quickly that joy and hope fizzled out into suspicion. "Yes?"

Sevreus didn't answer promptly. He stopped in his tracks close to a foot from her. In the dankness of the dungeon, her natural scent of honeysuckle cut through the air like a hot dagger through snow. It was actually rather breathtaking.

"Evangeline, I…" he began, but trailed off, as though at a loss for words.

The hope and anticipation returned in the form of a soft smile on Evangeline's lips.

"I know you have a gift for reviving dead plants and animals," Severus finally stated. "I wanted to know if you could bring…humans back to life as well."

It would have hurt less if he had taken one of the large cauldrons and cracked her in the head with it. She knew what was coming but couldn't help herself.

"W-what?" she stammered, almost dumbfounded.

Severus took in a deep breath. She hadn't outright refused him. That was a good sign, right?

"Could you bring back Lily? The girl from my memories."

Evangeline didn't say anything. She only looked at him as though she had just suffered the Dementor's kiss. Empty and broken.

After moments that passed by as years, she spoke again.

"Good-bye, Professor Snape."

She should have known. She should have known that Severus could never love another. Not while he still clung to Lily Evans as he did. Worse than that, he had asked her to bring the dead woman to life! Yeah, that was a swell request.

Without another word, Evangeline left the dungeons and Hogwarts all together with the intention of never returning; stopping in her trek only to bid good-bye to Albus and Hagrid, who she had grown to regard as a brother, and ask for him to tell Charlie and Bill Weasley that she had said farewell to them too.

"Where are you going?" Hagrid asked, his voice filled with concern.

Evangeline had to fight the tears with a strength that was fast wavering. "Somewhere where I can try and coax a broken heart to beat again."

She gave his giant cheek a quick kiss before he could ask more question and waved before heading straight for the gates.

Once outside them, Evangeline Apparated, leaving only the fragments of her heart on the dungeon floor. The last sign that she had ever been there.

* * *

She was gone. In the blink of an eye, Evangeline disappeared from his life. He seemed to have a knack for driving beautiful women away from him.

Unlike with Lily though, he wasn't sure what had spurred Evangeline to make the exit that she had.

Stalking back to his chair, he fell into it with a heavy "whump" and folded his arms across his chest.

His one chance of having Lily back had just left him cold and alone. That fact aside though, there was a greater emptiness at watching Evangeline go that he could explain.

And the way she looked at him…

Severus shuddered. He didn't even want to think about it. It was like his sole request had somehow hurt her. Quickly, that concern and pain was replaced by anger directed to his apprentice.

Evangeline was a big girl and had made her choice not to help him despite all he had done for her. She didn't want to be around him another moment and that what just fine with him. The girl was just a thorn in his side that he was glad to be rid of.

Even if that thorn was attached to quite a lovely rose.


	14. Chapter 14

"Professor Carrier, I'm afraid that I do not fully understand the purpose of our being here," Evangeline said to the elderly witch across from her in a voice that was soft and gentle yet rather deadpan.

Professor Carrier gave her colleague a wistful smile.

The first time that the Headmistress of the Salem Witches' Institute had met Evangeline Delacroix, the young witch had been full of life, warmth, and kindness. Since her apprenticeship at Hogwarts though, something had caused her to change in a drastic way.

Evangeline hardly spoke, only in her classes and when she needed something. Most days she would teach and then hide herself away in her study to lose herself in some book or another.

She was impassive and private, never giving any glimpses to the woman she once was.

It was disturbing to see a woman like her so obviously in pain. And such a great waste of beauty.

Sarah Carrier could remember being beautiful once. Now she was old. Ancient, truthfully. Her long hair had faded from blonde to white and was swept up into a constant bun. She was wrinkled, mostly around her eyes, and had paper-thin skin now. Still, her bright emerald eyes shone with vitality and wisdom.

"The Quidditch World Cup of course," came Carrier's cheery response.

Evangeline gave her superior a droll stare. "That was three months ago. Why are we back?"

The younger witch arched a brow when the elder's smile turned into a wry grin.

"Oh, yes! Pardon my mistake. I'm getting old, you know. We've been invited by my good friend Albus Dumbledore to sit as representatives of our school at the TriWizard Tournament."

Though the shock and upset was not written on her youthful features, Carrier could see it plainly in her companion's storm colored eyes.

"Headmistress," Evangeline said with the first emotion she had showed in nearly a decade, "I really do not feel that I should be the one to accept such an honor. There are other professors who have more seniority and a greater desire to see this legendary event than I."

Carrier chuckled from where she sat opposite Evangeline at the small dining table they shared. They had been living in the small inn in a place called Godric's Hollow since arriving in Britain close to a week before.

Evangeline hadn't wanted to come, but Carrier had twisted her arm sharply with the threat of renovating the Potions Professor's office so that there were larger windows and few bookcases.

"Nonsense," Carrier scoffed, taking a sip of her tea. "All the professors with seniority over you are too old to enjoy something such as this. Besides, Beauxbatons will be present and you'll have the opportunity to catch up with Madame Maxime."

Evangeline still looked reluctant, but seemed to resign herself to the fact she couldn't escape.

Carrier wanted her there and there she would stay.

With any luck, there would be too much chaos with having the three European schools together for her to actually cross paths with _him_.

"You know, I used to live here. When I was a little girl," Carrier said out of nowhere. "That's how I met Albus. Lived right down the lane. He's a few years older than me and Daddy moved us to America in 1850, so I went to the Salem Witches' Institute instead of Hogwarts. I haven't seen him since…since he became Headmaster."

"Isn't this the village where what's-his-name tried to kill that baby?"

"Ah, yes. Voldemort-" Several other witches and wizards in the establishment looked fearfully at Carrier. "-did indeed try that. Thirteen years tomorrow, actually."

Evangeline sighed and lifted her cup towards the other professor. "Happy Anniversary."

"Your sense of humor is a bit on the dark side, did you know that?" Carrier asked with a slight grin.

The younger witch shrugged. "It gets me by."

Finishing her tea, the Headmistress rose to her feet and straightened her robes.

"Well, lets get this show on the road," she said, heading out the door.

Evangeline gave a light sigh and dropped a sickle on the table before standing up and following after the elder woman who was dangerously close to being a foot shorter than she.

Her thoughts weren't on the Headmistress or their destination. They weren't even on the TriWizard Tournement, an event that hadn't taken place in many years.

All Evangeline could think of was the man she had left alone in the Hogwarts dungeon ten years before and how she was supposed to bear being near him again.


	15. Chapter 15

In ten years Severus Snape's opinion on the students of Hogwarts had changed very little.

They were still useless, dim-witted, and over all insufferable.

He only tolerated the Slytherin brats for the sheer fact that they were his charges and he felt they were due a reasonable amount of favoritism because of that fact.

Out of that particular group he often singled out a blonde child who was the spitting image of a fellow Death Eater.

Draco Malfoy was the type of boy who everyone loved to hate and in that respect, Snape could identify with him. However, Draco was far more arrogant and obnoxious than he had ever considered being.

Another reason that Snape favored Draco above the other students was because he dedicated a lot of his time and energy into making life hard on a Gryffindor student named Harry Potter. Also known as the boy who lived.

Severus had known who Harry was the moment he set eyes on him. Much like Draco, Harry could have been his father's twin.

It had been Mr. Potter, the elder one, who stole the woman who Severus loved and the younger Mr. Potter was only proof of the love that Lily had which would never belong to him. It presented a bit of a quagmire to Severus.

He wanted to make Harry miserable because of who his father was, wanted him to suffer. But every time Snape caught sight of Harry's eye all he could see was Lily. That was why he protected the boy as much as he could allow himself to.

And now another year of saving the boy from the trouble he would get himself into. It was inevitable.

Bumbling DADA professors, giant snakes, werewolves; Snape just couldn't wait to see what this new year would bring.

It was during this flow of thoughts that the Potions Professor was abruptly interrupted by the large doors on the far side of the Great Hall flying open, admitting two witches who made their way slowly down the aisle that lead to the head table.

One he could not have recognized had his life depended on it.

She was short, around five-feet tall and her wispy white hair was piled into what he assumed was a bun beneath her floppy, bright purple hat. Though she was pudgy and wrinkled now, Severus could see traces of a woman of great beauty beneath the fragile, lightly tanned skin.

It was the woman next to her, far younger than any of the professors present, that caught him off guard, almost to the point of making his jaw drop open.

Evangeline Delacroix hadn't aged a single bit in all the years since the last time he saw her. She was precisely as he remembered her.

Flesh as fair as a full moon with lips that made rose petals envious and dark auburn flames of hair that fell about her shoulders…she was lovely. But draped completely in black she was darkly ethereal.

"Students, may I present to you the representatives from the Salem Witches' Institute in America, Headmistress Sarah Carrier and Professor Evangeline Delacroix," Dumbledore stated in a booming voice that echoed off the stone wall.

As the students clapped, Carrier smiled warmly and waved. Evangeline merely trailed after the headmistress, not saying a word or making any motion of greeting.

Severus frowned. The Evangeline he had mentored was not to be found in this new woman.

"She's beautiful," breathed Igor Karkaroff, Headmaster of the Durmstrang Institute, from the seat next to Severus. The large man didn't take his eyes of her.

Severus scoffed but made no further comment. He was too busy watching the new guests being shown to their seats. A small flicker of weak hope had wanted Evangeline to be placed by him. It would give him the chance to ask her about the terms of their separation a decade before.

Unfortunately, she was placed by Madame Maxine, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, the school Evangeline had been taught at in her younger years which to anyone who didn't know her, didn't appear that far gone. Another mystery for him to mull over.

For single moment, Evangeline let her gaze wandered to the black-haired man who sat towards the end of the table.

She wanted to curse herself when she felt that memorable swell of joy at the sight of him. Laced tightly with that joy was the too recognizable feeling of melancholy.

Her attention was cast to Dumbledore when he spoke. Though she gave no real reaction to the words, she did smile faintly at seeing the familiar faces.

"Blimey. She's a professor?" whispered a redhead to his friend beside him as the foreign duo passed by. For a moment, Evangeline could have sworn she knew him.

His friend, a dark-haired boy with a peculiar scar on his forehead and thick glasses, watched her with raised brows. "I thought she was another contestant."

Evangeline just rolled her eyes a bit. Whispers everywhere. She could already hear them. Some were more decent than others. The more rude comments came from a few older boys in bright red robes.

With a soft sigh, the redheaded woman took her seat next to a rather excited Madame Maxine. As she chatted with her former professor, Evangeline couldn't help but let her mind wander to the hooked nose, crotchety professor at the opposite end of the table.

This was going to be a long school year.


	16. Chapter 16

Dinner commenced and gave way to the ceremony of selection of the TriWizard Champions.

Each school had been given its champion; Durmstrang had some brute named Viktor Krum, Beauxbatons' champion was a rather whimsy looking girl called Fleur, and finally Hogwarts had some kid named Cedric Diggory who was shockingly from Hufflepuff.

With the three champions chosen, everyone was free to leave, which was exactly what Severus Snape had planned on doing when he caught sight of the Goblet of Fire spitting up one last name.

When Harry Potter's name was called, every person present was utterly shocked. Even Snape, who had been expecting mischief from Potter, could not have foretold the event.

Much to his displeasure, the Potions master was swept away with many others of the faculty to discuss what had just happened and what could be done about it. Evangeline would have to regrettably wait.

* * *

Evangeline watched with an almost bemused smile as the Potter child took his name from Dumbledore.

"That's the boy," Carrier whispered from the redhead's side. "The one I was telling you about."

"The one Voldemort tried to off?"

"That's the one."

Evangeline studied him briefly before trailing her gaze back to the table Potter formerly occupied.

The redhead he had been sitting with was looking less than pleased. It was a look Evangeline knew well. She often witnessed it during her classes as an apprentice. But Charlie Weasley had long since left Hogwarts. Maybe he was a younger brother?

There were a set of twins at the same table with the same fiery hair that she assumed to be the ones her former student had talked about. All of them were apparently related, but even from the distance she was at, Evangeline could easily see the physical similarities between Potter's friend and hers.

Finally she brought her line of sight to include Professor Snape. She was surprised to find her gaze was met.

Soft blue and piercing black, it could have been poetic had she not caught the thinly masked anger Severus'.

"Oh, I think you have an admirer," Carrier's softly smug voice interrupted Evangeline's thoughts.

Evangeline was about to inform the headmistress that she was mistaken, that Severus Snape was not the admiring sort of man, when Carrier motioned towards the Durmstrang headmaster.

Despite the current confusion, Igor Karkaroff was slipping her as charming a smile as he could manage.

For a moment, Evangeline wanted to laugh.

"Headmistress," she started, her voice straining to be expressionless, "must I really stay?"

Carrier chuckled and sipped her pumpkin juice as Dumbledore and several others disappeared out a door to the side of the Great Hall. "My dear, a little romance never did anyone any harm."

"Romeo and Juliet, Samson and Delilah, Tristan and Isolde, Lancelot and Guinevere, Scarlett and Rhett, Merlin and Morgan le Fay-"

"Oh they don't count," Carrier sounded a bit cheeky. "Most of them are just Muggle fiction."

Evangeline rolled her eyes. "And those that aren't?"

"They didn't have half the sense that you do."

Sense? Yeah, sense was exactly why the young professor was watching the retreating, bat-like figure of Severus Snape. Because she had sense.

"Whatever you say, Headmistress."

* * *

By the time everything had been sorted out with the TriWizard champions, many of the occupants of Hogwarts castle had retired for the evening.

Severus was seething and making notes on what ridiculously complicated homework he could assign to Potter the next day for messing up his chance to speak with Evangeline when he was approached by the Headmaster.

Dumbledore looked incredibly exhausted and vexed. Snape didn't blame him though. The old wizard had a lot on his plate currently.

"Heading to bed, Severus?" he asked when he was closer to the professor.

Snape, arms akimbo, nodded.

Dumbledore nodded and continued on his way down the hall.

"You know," he said over his shoulder without stopping, "sometimes it is best to let sleeping dragons lie."

Severus' brow furrowed, perplexed by the unprovoked statement. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Headmaster."

"Good-night, Severus." Dumbledore chuckled, but offered no explanation as he turned a corner and vanished.

Severus scowled at the departed party and quickly turned on his heel, stalking off to his office in the dungeons. If the headmaster wanted Severus to abandon his task of confronting Evangeline, the old man would be sorely disappointed.

He wanted answers and by Merlin's beard, he was going to get them.


	17. Chapter 17

It was the first time she had felt revitalized in many a year.

There was just something about the early morning air of Hogwarts that did her soul good and revived some part of the woman she had once been. Being in it for almost two months worked wonders.

Standing on the edge of the cliffs she frequented in her year at the school, Evangeline stared down at the Black Lake with a soft smile. So far the trip had proven to be more enjoyable than what she had initially expected.

She had only seen Severus during dinner and on occasion in the halls. At those times though he was normally too busy giving out detentions or was too preoccupied with his thoughts to take notice of her.

Madame Maxine had been happy to catch up with one of her star students, but after a little while, the headmistress began to gravitate towards Hogwarts' Care of Magical Creatures professor who was also a dear friend of Evangeline's.

When he had told her of how his name had been cleared, the redheaded woman was genuinely happy for him.

It was that same afternoon that another old face returned to her life.

* * *

"You remember Charlie Weasley?" Hagrid asked during what had become her routine visit after his classes.

Evangeline nodded with a grin. "He was a first year when I was an apprentice."

"He was. He's coming back today. Bringing some-" Hagrid looked around as though someone might overhear them before continuing, "-dragons."

"Dragons?" she chuckled fondly. "Better than potions I suppose. I remember him sporting a ridiculous pair of rabbit ears once because of a backfired potion."

The pair was interrupted by a knock at the door which sent Fang into fits of barking.

"Oh, hush, Fang," Hagrid commanded in his thick accent before looking to the door. "Come in."

Slowly the door swung open.

Evangeline chuckled. _Speak of the devil and then he appears._

Though Charlie Weasley now towered over her, she could easily tell that he was the same freckled boy she had often bailed out of trouble.

"Hello Hagrid, I just dropped by- Merlin's beard. Miss Delacroix?" the young man asked, evidently shocked about seeing his old teacher.

Evangeline smiled warmly and waved. "I'm not your teacher anymore, Charlie. Call me Evangeline."

Charlie stood in the door for several long moments, trying to get his thoughts back into order. He hadn't seen the woman in ten years and yet there she sat as though she had just stopped by on some errand for Snape's class.

"Bloody hell," he breathed, folding his arms and shaking his head with a grin. "You sure hold your age well."

Evangeline's cheeks were tinged with rose. "I wish people would stop telling me that."

"Never met a woman who said that before."

Still grinning, Charlie looked to Hagrid and jerked his thumb towards the door. "Got the goods in the forests. Got anything to eat here, mate? I'd hate to deprive one of the contestants of their challenge by devouring it."

Hagrid chuckled as he headed out the door. "Stew's in the kettle. Just make yerself at home."

In only a few strides, Charlie had gotten his dinner and took the seat vacated by the hut's owner. Silence enveloped them as the man began to eat almost ravenously. It was fine by Evangeline though, it gave her the opportunity to study her former student.

He was tall with the same fiery hair cut short and freckles that she recalled. Unlike then though, Charlie was far more muscular. Then again, she supposed he would have to be in his line of work as a dragon wrangler. Which she assumed was the reason he sported burn scars on his forearms and neck.

When he broke the silence, Evangeline had been a little taken aback.

"So, why'd you run off like you did?" he asked unexpectedly.

Evangeline blinked, not sure how to answer for a moment. Of course, she should have expected it. Charlie had never been the type to beat around the bush. He was as straight-forward as they came.

"Circumstances," she finally replied.

Charlie nodded and scooped another bite of stew into his mouth.

"It's good to see you again," he said through the mouthful of meat and carrots.

"It's good to see you too."

More silence.

"How's Bill?"

"Long-haired and the Golden Child," came the half-sarcastic reply. "As always."

Evangeline laughed softly. "Well, what about Moira O'Connell? As I recall you two were close."

Charlie's features darkened with what she knew well to be sorrow.

"I haven't seen Moira since the end of our seventh year."

His motions slowed when he talked about his best friend until the wooden spoon he held just hovered above his bowl.

"She…disappeared after we got off the train at Platform 9 ¾," he continued. "No one's seen her since."

Evangeline's heart went out to him. It was difficult losing a loved one and from the way Charlie spoke, he had taken Moira's vanishing hard.

"I'm so sorry, Charlie," she said softly.

Charlie shrugged and kept his gaze on the half-empty bowl before him. "Not your fault."

The remainder of the afternoon Evangeline and Charlie just sat in the old hut talking about the "old days." The sun had barely sunk beneath the horizon when Charlie's youngest brother appeared and was introduced to Charlie's old teacher.

* * *

**I just wanted an excuse to bring back Charlie. :)**


	18. Chapter 18

Ron hadn't believed that any of what was told to him, but after a little coaxing he seemed to accept that Evangeline was enough to have taught Charlie and that Snape had once been a mentor to someone and that had in fact been with in an arm's length of a female.

"You're a braver woman than most," was all Ron would say on that matter.

As the two brothers departed, the lone woman made her way back to the castle.

* * *

Thinking on the month-old memory as she stood there, early morning breeze tugging at her heavy black cloak, Evangeline never looked away from the dark water. 

She had always thought that Severus' eyes were like that water. Too deep to know all the secrets it held and most of those secrets were better left as such.

With a soft sigh, Evangeline tore herself away from the cliffs and lake. She had gotten her exercise for the day and now it was time to relax.

Well, maybe not quite yet.

She had only made it as far as the rose gardens when she was intercepted by a large, though not as large as Hagrid, man in scarlet robes.

The long white hair Igor Karkaroff sported was slicked back from his face to give the impression of openness, but it was clear that the smile he wore was lost in the depths of his eyes. He was an insincere man at best and Evangeline trusted the man just about as far as she could throw him.

"Headmaster Karkaroff," Evangeline murmured in greeting with a polite incline of her head.

His smile widened a bit. It made her…uncomfortable.

"Professor Delacroix," he returned the salutation. "I was hoping to find you this morning."

Evangeline arched a brow and stepped away from him, trying to escape. "Well, you found me."

Instead of leaving her be, Karkaroff took her movement as an invitation to a stroll about the gardens.

Inwardly, the young professor grimaced.

"Was there any particular reason you were looking for me, Headmaster?" she asked, trying to be a cordial as she could.

"Please, call me Igor," he replied, looking down to her with that same lifeless smile.

"Igor."

The stroll stopped by a rather large bush that bore orange roses with red tinting the edges of the petals. They were beautiful, but she much preferred orchids.

When Karkaroff broke the stem of one of the fat blossoms, Evangeline felt her stomach knot in an unpleasant sort of way.

"To answer your question," he said, startling her with the sudden break in the silence, "yes."

Fabulous.

"How can I help you, Headmaster?"

Looking from the rose in his hand to her, Karkaroff stepped forward. There was maybe a foot between them.

"You're a lovely woman, Miss Delacroix-"

"Evangeline."

"Evangeline. And I would be delighted if you would be my companion for the Yule Ball," he said, holding the rose out to her in offering.

With a feeble smile, Evangeline took the flower. "I'm…I'm not sure what to say."

It was cute to be asked out in such a way, romantic almost. Were it not for his great age, she might have really considered accepting his offer.

Anything to help her in forgetting about Severus Snape.

"I'm flattered, Headmaster, but I must regrettably decline. You see, I'm a dreadful dancer," she replied at last, her free hand reaching out to gently pat his forearm.

Karkaroff frowned and nodded though it belied his words. "I understand."

With another incline of her head, Evangeline left the rose garden and entered the castle which was already being decorated for the Yule Ball.

Somewhere to her left, she could have sworn she heard the swish of billowing robes, but found nothing there when she looked. Merlin's beard, Karkaroff had her paranoid now. Frowning, she continued down the hall, wondering where Headmistress Carrier could have gotten off to.

* * *

**I'm bringing Sevvie back. Them other writers don't know how to act.**

**-coughs and blushes-**

**Um, yeah. Snape'll make his return in the next chapter.**

**Much love,**

**Chi**


	19. Chapter 19

Severus wished he were able to produce a reasonable explanation for the fury he felt towards Evangeline Delacroix at that moment.

In truth, his anger should have been directed towards Karkaroff who had messed up the first chance Snape had found to speak with the girl in private since she had arrived. She had become incredibly tricky to find and his work kept mysteriously piling up.

But if old habits died hard, he knew that Evangeline would go out of a morning to reflect by the cliffs. All he had to do was wait for her.

Just inside the massive doors he did so, arms folded and scowl in place. Unfortunately, Karkaroff beat him to her.

From where he stood, the pair of them looked awful chummy. His scowl deepened. And then the brute had given her a rose. A rose that she willingly accepted! Not to mention the fact that she actually smiled to him.

He hadn't seen her smile since she had left.

Severus snorted at the memory. He had left after the rose and had not laid eyes on Evangeline until tonight.

The night of the Yule Ball.

Students and faculty alike were joyous and merry and having a good old time. Well, save for Karkaroff and Snape who were meandering through the very same gardens that Karkaroff and Evangeline had been in just days before.

Severus had taken to blasting the rose bushes under the pretense of flushing out snogging couples. In truth, he didn't want to look at the inexplicably hideous blossoms while with Karkaroff who was going on about something Snape was only partially paying attention to.

"I don't see how you can't find that woman lovely," Igor stated, diverting from his previous worries to look in the large windows of the Great Hall.

Severus' attention shifted to the windows as well despite himself. The comment had stirred his curiosity.

At what he saw, his black eyes widened.

Evangeline was a pretty girl, but Severus had never known she was that pretty.

As was to be expected, the evening gown she wore was as black as the finest ebony. No other color could do her the justice, he suddenly realized.

The darkness made her fair skin the shade of porcelain and her hair, which was swept up in a antique clasp, all the more like flames of blood. Her lips were almost the same color.

The cut of the garment she wore showed her figure better than usual, but left little skin uncovered. Only that of her collarbone and throat was bare. Still, she could have been a succubus, some angel or demon of the night sent to haunt men's dreams.

"Severus?"

Damn Karkaroff for speaking.

Realizing that he had been caught staring, the Potions master blasted apart another bush, revealing what he was supposed to be standing watch for.

"Ten points from Hufflepuff, Miss Fawcett," Snape snapped dourly before he and the Durmstrang headmaster wandered off again.

He was going to have a difficult time getting that image from his head. Even from the distance he had been at, Evangeline had managed to set his body aflame as it once had.

_Now's not the time_, he told himself heatedly. _You've got more important things to do than lust after some silly girl. You're no better than Karkaroff._

And then there was Lily. She had never been his, but Severus nonetheless felt as though he were betraying her by having the thoughts that were currently racing through his brain.

Thoughts that were just a trifle too tempting.


	20. Chapter 20

At long last, Karkaroff left him alone, opting to find someone more willing to listen to him talk.

Severus never had cared for the man. He was a coward if there had ever been one to live.

Snow covered the ground from an earlier onslaught which was gradually picking up again. The tiny flakes of ice drifted to earth lazily, catching in what remained of the flora and Snape's dark hair where it promptly melted.

"Professor Snape?"

He gritted his teeth. This thought-interrupting business was getting old.

"What?" he hissed, turning quickly to face his newest annoyance.

What he found was Evangeline. She had donned her cloak and braved the cold to come out and talk to him. He could recall how she had thoroughly despised the cold which invoked his surprise at seeing the dark-haired woman there.

As suddenly as he had responded to her, he relaxed a bit. He had thought it was going to be someone else.

The silence that seemed to be commonplace with her now took over, blanketing the two of them just as the snow was.

Evangeline had seen Severus peering in the window at her. Some instinct had told her to go out to him, to find out why he stared at her so…astoundedly.

Now she was getting the first good look at him since Halloween. He was a bit older now, but other than that he was still the same old Severus; neither handsome nor charming, but somehow still able to make her want to go weak at the knees.

"Dumbledore was baffled by your hurried departure," the British professor said, speaking at last. "Many were."

"Much to my distress, I couldn't remain here a moment longer than what I did."

Severus narrowed his eyes in confusion. "You're here now."

She appeared hesitant before replying. "Not because I want to be."

So, Carrier had forced the girl to come to Hogwarts?

"Why didn't you wish to return? There are several here who cared for you."

The anger flashed plainly in Evangeline's eyes. Her shoulders, which had been slumping a bit, straightened as she stared at him.

"You know full well why I left."

"Because of a simple request?"

"Because of that request!"

Now it was Severus' turn to be angry.

"So you left to avoid aiding the man who aided you?" he asked coldly.

Evangeline shook her head. "I left because I have never been asked anything so cruel."

His fists balled in effort to keep from lashing out at her. The selfish girl.

"How was it cruel? She was all I ever wanted." His voice was made low by barely-contained rage.

The tears that stung viciously at the backs of Evangeline's eyes spilled over her cheeks without her knowledge. There was an intense behind her right eye as well, but like the tears, not given attention.

"And you were all I ever wanted," she replied firmly. All the hurt and heartbreak she had suffered from hit her full-force again, making the tears fall all the more.

Severus hadn't heard right. Those words had not just came from Evangeline's tongue.

"What?"

Evangeline nodded and finally lifted her arm to dry her cheeks with the fabric of her sleeve. "That's why I left."

He would have been less surprised if she had professed a desire to see him miserable and suffering. That she wanted to make life more unbearable for him by not bringing Lily back.

Instead she pulled this on him. And he didn't know how to react.

"I'm…sorry to have caused you trouble," Severus said in a voice that he didn't think was his. It wasn't deadpan or condescending.

His own emotions had been set into a frenzy at her confession. Unwilling to show any of them to her though, Severus left without another word.

* * *

No matter how hard she tried, Evangeline couldn't get the tears to stop. They just kept coming. Her strength had abandoned her. 

For the second time in her life, Evangeline Delacroix collapsed to her knees in the snow in pain. All because of Severus Snape.

Fate apparently took pity on the redheaded woman because it wasn't five minutes later that a pair of massive arms scooped her up as though she were nothing more than a child and cradled her to a furry chest.

Wait, that was just a beard.

"Come on, Evangeline," Hagrid said, the tone of his voice revealing he had witnessed what had just happened. "Let's get you out of the cold before you catch your death."

She could hear the snow crunch beneath his large feet with each step he took which worked in unison with the half-giant's heartbeat to create a soft lullaby meant to ease her pain.

Already though, she was going numb again. A numb that had nothing to do with the winter cold.


	21. Chapter 21

The snow of the fierce winter had begun to melt, baring the countryside to the sun in hopes of coaxing the flora and fauna to return.

Quite some time had passed since the Yule Ball and the second TriWizard challenge.

Headmistress Carrier had grown far more than concerned about her companion who seemed to be being eaten alive with depression.

The young witch hardly spoke and had taken to cliffs more and more frequently. It often made Carrier fearful to know that was where Evangeline was.

Carrier was afraid that she would decide to practice her swan dive.

That was where she found Professor Delacroix that evening; sitting alone on the cliff with only the breeze and twilight for company.

Releasing a sad breath, the elderly woman hitched up her vibrant green skirts and took a seat by the younger one.

"My dear, you can't let this destroy you," Carrier said in a maternal tone.

Evangeline offered no response.

"There are other men in this world. Better men."

"You don't know him as I do," the redhead whispered after a long pause. "I've seen his memories."

Well, it was a start though it did nothing to help Carrier in her self-imposed task of comforting the woman beside her. Since Evangeline's parents were no longer a partof her life, the Headmistress had more or less adopted the redheaded woman.

"That doesn't mean that you love him," Carrier tried a more sensible approach.

All that managed was to get Evangeline to glare at her boss with eyes that snapped blue fire.

"Never accuse me of being insincere with my emotions."

Carrier sighed. "I didn't say that. I merely implied that love is a complicated thing and that maybe what you feel for Professor Snape is infatuation."

Once again, Evangeline grew silent as she rose to her feet. Though she was in fact depressed, the woman still carried herself with a grace and dignity few could match.

Still in silence, the willow wand was pulled from the inside pocket of her dark robes and pointed out over the Black Lake.

Carrier shielded her eyes from the burst of brilliant light and only uncovered them once the Patronus had soared a few feet away.

"Wha-" the Headmistress trailed off once she realized that there was no prancing unicorn made of silvery light with them.

Lazily, the incandescent bat flapped in a few circles before diving down into the water.

"Is that infatuation, Headmistress?"

Carrier closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. She had hoped this wouldn't have been the case. Only extreme emotion could make a Patronus shift as Evangeline's had done.

"How long has it been that way?" she asked softly, dreading the answer.

Evangeline had set her jaw and replaced her wand in her cloak stoically.

"For as long as I've known him."

Thunder rumbled. A storm was approaching.

* * *

Severus Snape stared at the pair of witches from where he had stopped in his tracks on the way down to the front gates to gather St. John's Wort. 

Had he truly witnessed that?

Was that really Evangeline's Patronus?

It was common knowledge that the students often referred to him as a great bat swooping through the halls of Hogwarts in his black robes. Was that a sentiment off of which this new Patronus of hers had been based?

Snape could feel his heart constrict painfully in his ribcage. He hated how this girl played havoc on his mental and physical health.

Droplets of water splattered against his forehead and cheeks. He paid them no heed though. His path had changed course and his feet were absently carrying him over to where the witches were.

He had to know.

* * *

**Yeah, yeah, a bit of ripping off one of the best Deathly Hallows scenes (McGonagall with her desks beats all!), but it couldn't be helped really.**

**In the wizarding world, how else do you prove your deepest love other than a Patronus? Tonks had her wolf, Severus his doe...I'm just sticking to the pattern.**

**Much love,**

**Chi**


	22. Chapter 22

Sarah Carrier was the first to spot the fast approaching Snape. Jumping to her feet, the short old woman placed herself in front of Evangeline protectively.

"You've done enough damage," the Headmistress all but hissed. "Just turn around and go back to your business."

Severus' eyes narrowed hatefully on the woman. "This _is_ my business."

Carrier was about to snap back, but Evangeline placed her hand on the bony shoulder to stop her.

"Its fine, Headmistress. I can deal with this on my own," Evangeline said softly, her eyes locked to Snape's dispassionately. "Please, go back to the castle."

Reluctantly, Carrier obliged and returned to the castle after raking Severus with another frigid, fierce look.

The rain began to fall with more gusto as the two stood there, staring at one another.

"What do you want, Professor?" Evangeline inquired, still betraying no emotion.

"Was that your Patronus? The bat?"

There was a pause before she replied.

"Yes."

It pained him. He had done this to her. He had made her void of the very things that made her beautiful, but how?

"Why?" he asked with a furrowed brow.

At that, the dam broke. A flood of emotions swept Evangeline up and spirited her away, leaving in her stead a woman who was laughing almost hysterically.

All of this and Severus still didn't understand.

He mistook her laughter, it was incredulous, but he seemed to have missed that too.

"Are you mocking me?" the Hogwarts professor asked solemnly.

The sky had darkened at record speed, only lessening in shade when lightning streaked across it. With each brilliant burst, the thunder rolled after it.

And then the heavens opened and the rain fell in legendary proportions.

"I can't believe that after everything that you still don't get it," Evangeline said as her laughter finally began to calm.

Severus sneered as he walked up to her, arms folded across his chest. "Get what? That you're a foolish little girl with a silly perspective of reality?"

Altogether her laughter ceased, replaced by gritted teeth and snapping eyes.

He could never recall eyes being so blue before.

"The latter may be true; after all I spent ten years pining for you. But I am not a foolish little girl."

"Prove it."

She thought her teeth were going to crack from the pressure she applied to them. _Insufferable, arrogant, vile bastard._

Once again, Evangeline drew her wand and pressed the rounded tip into the underside of Snape's jaw.

"I'm sick of this, Severus. I'm sick of proving myself to you only to have you cut me down mercilessly and then kick me in the gut when I'm bleeding on the floor," she spat venomously.

The whole scene was indescribably perfect to him.

Rain drenched the robes she wore, making them cling to a well hidden and curvaceous body. Her hair too clung to her ivory flesh in sopping wet waves. The lightning overhead was reflected in the dark blue orbs of her eyes.

Or was it that the lightning was the product of those eyes and the fury they held?

The pain she had endured at his unwitting hand had not truly broken her. It had made her stronger, made her fierce. She wasn't the placid, soft-spoken creature he had once mentored.

In this storm she was beautiful beyond words.

And the way she said his name…with such passion, such vivaciousness. It was enough to drive him mad with need.

Reaching up, Severus took the hand that gripped her wand in his and roughly tugged.

Evangeline lost her balance and fell against him, just as he had intended. Before she could protest though, the dark-haired man dipped his head and crushed her lips to his in a searing kiss.


	23. Chapter 23

**Be warned: Yummy Snape smut ahead. :D**

**Much Love,**

**Chi**

* * *

At first she hadn't been sure of what Severus was doing jerking her about by her arm. She had every intention of yelling at him for that too, but as soon as her body met his, those thoughts were lost.

The rain had completely soaked through their clothing, making the fabric hug to their bodies and put up a weak barrier between skins.

What she had once attributed to volumes of his robes, Evangeline was surprised to find was actually his body. He didn't have a bad build on him.

Her free hand rested on his chest which was solid under her soft touch. It was warm.

Looking up to him, her resolve weakened. She could never remain angry with him. She was a bit of a push-over when it came to him.

When his lips overtook her own, claimed them for himself, she knew no other man would suffice.

Severus Snape may never love her, but she would love him for the rest of her long life.

* * *

A soft groan met his kiss and his body hardened all the more.

She was addictive. More so than any drug known to man.

The more of Evangeline that he had, the more he wanted. It was an insatiable, demanding force that drove him to the point of being a beast.

Years without the touch of a woman took a toll on a man, especially once the dry spell was broken by a woman as…extraordinary as Evangeline Delacroix.

His hand still held hers firmly, keeping her to him. The free hand slipped to the small of her back to further keep the distance between them at a minimal.

Slowly, the hand on his chest moved up to cradle his face in the single most tender gesture he had ever experienced. That soothed him, brought him to slow in his actions.

No one had ever touched him like that. Not with the love this girl, nay, this woman had for him.

The call girls Lucius seemed so fond of sending his way on his birthday certainly didn't. They just did their job.

Not even Lily had touched him that way. Childhood affection maybe, but not love.

Severus slid his fingers up the length of the redhead's back and along her arm before he could take the hand on his face. As gently as he could manage, he turned his head, breaking his lips from hers, and pressed a kiss to her open palm.

* * *

Evangeline had never known that the Potions master could be so temperate. It refreshed the tears she had shed only weeks before.

Black eyes peered into blue for a long moment, trying to decide whether those were rain drops on her cheeks or tears.

"Are you crying?" Severus asked in a soft voice that he apparently not accustomed with using.

Evangeline nodded with a gentle smile. "It's joy though."

He could barely hear her over the thunder and lightning. "We should go inside."

* * *

No sooner had the words left his tongue then they were standing in dungeons. It completely bewildered Snape. There was no Apparating inside of Hogwarts…

Before he could ask though, both of Evangeline's hand took his face and pulled him down into a kiss no less needful than the one he had bestowed on her.

Whatever he had been about to say was completely lost as he returned her kiss, his hands moving to grip her hips and once again tug her flush against him.

His robes were wet and clinging which did nothing to conceal the prominent bulge below his waist.

To Severus' surprise, the redhead didn't pull back or shy away though he knew she couldn't help but feel it low against her belly. It didn't bother him though; it only gave him cause not to stop.

Careful to keep her to him, the dark-haired man led her forward until he had had her pinned to the heavy oak door of his office. Once he had her where he wanted her, Severus pulled away from her lips to trail hot kisses from the underside of her jaw to the neckline of her gown.

Her hands found his hair and tangled in it to keep him close. Not that she really thought that he was going to abandon her. Not like this.

She'd kill him if he stopped.

Never before had her body burned as it was. She wanted to feel his hands, his lips against her bare skin, to be lost in the throes of ecstasy the likes of which she had only heard tales about.

The thought alone fueled her already incredible desire.

"Severus," she breathed into his ear, her eyes closed as she savored his touch. "Undress me."

Her breath tickled his ear, stirred his hair, but it was his words that set him ablaze. He hadn't thought it would be possible for his erection to grow harder, but it did. Almost painfully so.

With a ravenous vigor, Severus brought his hands up from her hips to unfasten the clasps and buttons of her robes with deft fingers. In moments, the garments fell to the floor in a wet pile.

He pulled back then, just to look over her nude form.

Evangeline was a breathtaking without clothes as she was with them.

* * *

**Got a little happy with the lines today.**

**I heart lines.**

**More Love,**

**Chi**


	24. Chapter 24

**Ye be warned: More Smutty Snape goodness ahoy!**

* * *

"You're beautiful," Severus whispered, bringing a hand up to cradle her face as she had done to him.

The dark locks of her hair curled as it dried about his fingers. One of the rose bushes he had blasted during the Yule Ball gave blossoms the same shade of red as her hair, but it was a weak comparison.

Nothing could measure up to Evangeline in that moment. Not even Lily.

Evangeline smiled and brought her own hand up to rest against his. She was terrified that at any given moment, she would wake up and find herself in her little study back in Salem.

"Your turn," she whispered in response.

Her fingers trailed along his arm until the fastenings of his voluminous robes were found. Unlike Severus, Evangeline took her time in undoing them which was perfectly fine by Severus. It just gave him more time to admire her.

The supple curves of her breasts, waist, and hips were more perfect than any one woman's should be. Every inch of her enticing ivory skin was smooth and soft. He had never come across a body like Evangeline's and he doubted that he ever would again.

There had to be veela somewhere in her heritage.

Severus' eyes closed when he felt the cool air touch the heated flesh usually hidden by robes and folded arms.

When he felt her full, rosy lips brush over his chest, the Potions master released a soft groan and brought his hands to grasp at the wall behind the redhead in an attempt to keep his balance.

Each of Evangeline's kisses preceded another inch of his clothing to be opened. She stopped just below his navel before straightening herself and leaning back to get a better look of him.

True, Severus Snape was not the most attractive man with his hooked nose, pallid complexion, and stringy hair, but she couldn't help sucking in an appreciative breath at the sight of his naked front.

She could remember seeing in the Pensieve some years before Severus as a Death Eater. All she had to say about that was the dark side knew how to build a body.

* * *

Severus' breathing had grown labored under Evangeline's caresses which were as innocent as they were inviting. 

Quickly he shed the robes in entirety and eagerly resuming pinning the redhead against the door.

His body burned, no, ached with a need the likes of which he had never experienced. He had never wanted something so badly in his life like he wanted Evangeline.

Sliding his open palms down her hips, Snape grasped her legs just above her knee and hoisted her up with ease. His torso kept hers firmly to the oak wood as he draped the long limbs about hips only to slide his hands back up her sides to come to rest on the backs of her shoulders.

* * *

Evangeline gave a soft cry of pleasure when Severus dipped his head to gently bite her neck where it curved into the underside of her jaw. Instinctively, her right hand moved to tangle in his hair and cradle him to her while her left clutched his back. 

Severus felt better than sin.

She had never seen him really talk to the female persuasion, much less act in a manner that showed fondness, but he seemed to know her body better than she did herself.

Each touch, each bite, each kiss, each breath against her skin seemed to kindle an unrelenting fire deep within her.

Blue eyes closed as the rough palms skimmed down her sides again to grip her outer thighs. Well, one did. The other slid between their seemingly fused bodies to take the rigid length of flesh that pressed so insistently against her and reposition it.

That was the only warning she had before Severus' hips thrust upward and claimed her virginity.

* * *

Severus felt sick when the resistance of Evangeline's body turned out to be not as slight as he had originally thought. All too quickly, that resistance gave way and the woman in his arms tensed with a cry laced in pain. 

His forehead rested in the crook of her shoulder as his mind raced. Merlin, why hadn't she said anything?

Taking in a deep breath, Severus tried to regain as much of his composure as he could, a hard task when one is naked, before looking up into bright, blue-grey eyes that seemed expectant of his hesitation.

"Evangeline, wh-" he started but was given no opportunity to finish.

Evangeline had removed her hand from his hair and pressed her forefinger to his lips.

"Severus," the woman said, her breathing hard, but tone placid, "this is my choice."

His heart constricted again. He really needed to get Pomfrey to check that out sometime.

Severus nodded and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and whispered only three words;

"As you wish."


	25. Chapter 25

Their lovemaking (for even though the phrase disgusted him, Severus found no other words justified the act) carried on late into the night and even the early hours of the morning until finally the pair collapsed in a sweaty, panting heap bent over the edge of the British professor's desk which had been untidy before, but was now absolute chaos.

Severus' body still ached, but it was a different sort of dull pain that consumed him. Every muscle was throbbing in the most delectable of manners. This pain was a good one, a satiated one. At least for the time being.

Reaching up, he brushed the mussed locks of dark auburn hair from the back of the woman's neck to place the tender flesh where already small bruises that kept growing darker and faint teeth marks that would fade during the day.

He didn't feel bad about the markings in the least either because Evangeline had paid him back for each and every one of them.

The Potions master was rather thankful that he wore such concealing garments now. It would be difficult to conduct class with scratches and "hickies" visible to the students. Difficult? Hell, it'd be a nightmare.

Propping himself up on one arm, Severus looked down to the woman before him.

Merlin. He would almost daresay that being naked and laying across his desk made Evangeline all the more lovely. There was a radiance to her now that she was spent and happy, reveling in the shared sensations and feelings, that he had not noticed before.

For a moment his fingers drifted down from her to trace the scars on her back. They weren't all hideous, only a few looked particularly painful. Those were whelped up and jagged, stretching across her spine about half a foot before dissolving into finer, less noticeable blemishes that danced along her shoulders and lower back.

He didn't know what could have caused the disfigurements and he hoped that he never encountered it.

Slowly he brought his black gaze to rest on Evangeline's face which was partially concealed by her hair and shoulder.

Leaning forward again, Severus drew in a deep breath as he felt her round bottom press against his groin. He needed rest, but didn't want it. Not while she was still there.

With a gentle touch, the Potions master brushed her remaining hair back to better look at her.

Evangeline was looking at him over the graceful curve of her shoulder, a dreamy, soft smile on lips swollen with Severus' kisses.

"Had enough?"

Snape shook his head before he bent it to brush his own lips over her throat.

"I don't think I can get enough of you," he murmured against the heated flesh.

Evangeline laughed warmly. "Your classes start in less than four hours."

"If they haven't learned it by now, they're all lost causes."

Again she laughed. "Severus, please…"

His eyes closed as though he could somehow savor the sound of her voice better without sight. "Say it again."

"Severus?"

It was music. To hear his name spoken without disdain or disgust, taunting or malice was…paradise.

Grudgingly, Severus stepped back and let the redheaded woman up. Instantly he noticed the absence of her body's warmth against his. It made him frown.

Evangeline straightened herself and turned so that she faced him. To counter the scowl on his face, she smiled. "I can come back later if you really want, Professor. No need to pout."

"I do not pout," he replied in voice that was not truly cold.

"Mmhmm."

Severus couldn't help but let the sour façade melt when she wrapped her arms about his chest. He had never felt so wanted before in his life. It was a delightful and exhilarating experience that made him feel as though he could do and face anything.

"I really should be going. Carrier will be worried," Evangeline whispered lovingly as she looked up to him.

With a soft sigh, Severus bowed his head to press his forehead to hers, no words able to find him.

What did one say when they had just spent an incredible night with a woman's whose beauty could have made Helen of Troy a hag?

"Come back tomorrow," he returned in a low whisper.

Evangeline nodded and quickly pressed her lips to his. "I promise."

Once again, Severus had to force himself to tear away from her so she could get dressed. All it took was a flick of a wand and the red-haired siren was gone, leaving Severus to the dark loneliness of his dungeons.

Now that his one-time apprentice was gone, the Potions master dragged himself to the small chamber off his office that served as a bedroom.

He didn't even bother tugging on his old grey nightshirt before crawling into the bed. The heavenly scent of honeysuckle, of Evangeline, still clung to his skin and he didn't want anything to interfere with it lulling him into slumber.


	26. Chapter 26

Evangeline was good to her word and returned to the dungeons after dinner that evening.

And the next.

And the next.

It was apparent to a few of the more clever students that something had transpired between the two. What was the debatable topic.

Snape seemed to be a lot more tired than in the weeks past. There were bags under his eyes and for some reason he was a bit more on edge than usual. It never failed though, that the grumpiness softened in the presence of Miss Delacroix.

"Maybe he likes her," offered a bushy haired girl over a bubbling cauldron one afternoon in class. Professor Snape had stepped out to speak with the foreign teacher, leaving the class to tend to themselves for a few moments.

The scarred, bespectacled boy beside her scoffed at the idea. "Maybe he'd like to suck her blood."

At that Hermione Granger rolled her eyes, but smiled regardless.

"Snape's the one who mentored her, you know," Ron supplied from the table in front of them where he was working with a round boy named Neville Longbottom. "It was during Charlie's first year."

"You mean Snape's actually been close to a woman before?" Harry Potter asked, astounded.

"That's what I said."

The door slammed and the black whirl of robes sweeping down the aisle meant that Snape had returned to class. He looked to be right cheery upon his return.

Well, as cheery as was possible for Severus Snape which meant the Slytherins were ignored and the Gryffindors were scowled at and had their intelligence and worth insulted.

As was expected, Neville made a miscalculation and a loud bang reverberated throughout the dungeons.

With a dirty look on his face, Snape approached the smoldering remains of the cauldron and sniffed the air before frowning.

"Weasley, you should keep your eye on your partner from now on. Maybe next time you can save him from detention," the professor sneered before looking to the actual offender. "I expect to see you this evening at Hagrid's cabin. He's been needed an extra pair of hands in catching some pests in the gardens."

As quickly as he had swept over to them, Snape moved on to inflict his presence upon some other poor student.

The Golden Trio exchanged glances. Any thoughts they'd had about Snape ever possibly finding love with a woman the likes of Evangeline Delacroix (whom Hermione detested with an undying passion) fled immediately.

Snape was far too repulsive in every sense of the word to ever find love.

"At least detention's with Hagrid," Ron offered as comfort to his lab partner with a hearty clap of the shoulder.

Neville sighed and began to clean up the mess he made.

"Next time, I'm not even going to touch the viper's fang," he muttered.

"Next time, I won't let you." The redhead grinned and nodded. "Then the greasy git won't be able to pick on you."

"Ten points from Gryffindor. Weasley, I realize it's a difficult concept for you, but please be quiet before you join Longbottom in the extermination business."

* * *

**Sorry its short, but I swear its relevent to the story.**

**Much love,**

**Chi**


	27. Chapter 27

The sky brilliant blue sky overhead was streaked with the flaming reds and gold of a sun dying behind the horizon.

Neville Longbottom had always been rather fond of sunsets. They were beautiful and romantic and gave him a sense of hope that the day following it would be far better than the one preceding it.

With a soft sigh, the dark-haired boy shifted the weight of his books and continued on his trek down to Hagrid's cabin. It was days like this that he knew Snape had to hate him. Why? He wasn't sure, but there wasn't any other explanation for it.

He had barely reached the steps when the large door flew open and revealed a dark-haired woman.

It was Miss Delacroix.

Neville's eyes grew wide and he gulped. The foreign teacher was incredibly easy on the eyes which meant she had been the target of many a school-boy crushes ever sense her arrival, Neville included.

"Hello, Neville," she greeted with a warm smile.

Neville nearly melted.

To begin with, the woman had terrified him. When she had first come to Hogwarts, she had been so much like Professor Snape that he had thought she was his long lost twin.

The longer she stayed though, the more appealing she became. Especially once Madame Sprout sang her praises of being extraordinarily gifted in growing and saving plants.

Neville had realized his infatuation just shortly before the Yule Ball and had taking to practicing his dancing ardently in the hopes of sharing a dance with the foreign teacher.

Instead, he just went with Ginny and tried not to look at Miss Delacroix. Being shy was a curse.

"H-hi, Miss Delacroix," Neville replied in a soft voice. She knew his name.

"I'm guessing you're here for detention?"

He nodded.

Miss Delacroix laughed softly. "For Professor Snape, I'd imagine."

Again, he nodded.

"Seemed to be a popular activity today," the redhead said before she motioned towards the inside of Hagrid's cabin. "Luna Lovegood is here too."

Neville leaned to one side and peered around the woman to look at the blonde girl in a worn out chair.

"Well, I must be on my way. It was good seeing you."

With another warm smile, Miss Delacroix waved and headed off towards the castle.

Neville watched her retreating figure for a long moment before turning back only to smack into the half-giant Hagrid.

"Easy there, Neville," Hagrid said, catching the boy by his robes with ease before he fell over.

"Sorry about that," Neville murmured as the blonde girl left her chair and moved out to where the male pair stood.

"Are we still going to feed the squid?" Luna asked in her cheery voice.

The boy frowned a bit. "Professor Snape said we were going to be doing extermination.

Hagrid shook his massive head as they started for the cliffs. "Fraid I finished that job off at lunch. Hope this is okay."

Neville shook his head rapidly. If the Care of Magical Creatures Professor thought that something needed to be gotten rid of, Neville had no desire to tangle up with it.

* * *

The students followed after Hagrid who was walking towards the cliffs. The closer they grew, the more apparent it that a group had assembled. 

It was easy to pick out Evangeline Delacroix thrown in the midst of the Slytherins, Draco Malfoy and his minions, and the Gryffindors, Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Miss Delacroix!" Hagrid hurried to her side, blocking the latter students to make her task of keeping them from each others' throats easier. "What's going on?"

"Malfoy," Harry hissed as a response in Evangeline's stead. "He refuses to cease in his ridicule of Hermione for being a Muggle."

"Mudblood," the blonde haired boy corrected with a sneer from behind Miss Delacroix who was looking quite exasperated.

"I've sent Ron's sister to fetch Professor Snape to deal with this."

At that, Harry shifted his fury from Draco to the female professor. "Who will only take their side. What is it with you and Snape anyways?"

Evangeline's fair skin flushed in what could be either embarrassment or frustration.

"That's none of your concern, Mr. Potter," she replied coolly.

That diversion was all Draco needed.

Breaking away from Miss Delacroix, the blonde boy jerked his wand from his robes and pointed it directly at Harry Potter.

_"FLIPENDO!"_

* * *

Out of pure shock, Neville was the first to react. 

Neville dove at his classmate and managed to knock him out of the path of the jinx, only to take Harry's place on the receiving end.

He could hear several voices scream his name. Only barely though, the wind was rushing past his ears, making other sounds almost impossible.

So this was how he was going to die? Somehow he always pictured Snape as being involved somehow, but no.

Neville was going to perish by falling into the Black Lake from an incredible height.

* * *

Hermione had her own wand out, in an attempt to save the fallen boy, but found he was falling far too fast in the darkness. 

"It's no good," she cried, tears forming in her eyes.

Harry and Ron had wasted no time in hexing the Slytherins with full body binds to keep them from causing more damage than what they already had.

Luna moved to offer comfort to the crying Hermione as Hagrid jogged towards the castle to meet Snape and a redheaded girl no older than Luna who were fast approaching.

"Here," Miss Delacroix shouted to Ron as she threw her heavy black cloak at him. Despite the darkness, the teacher was strangely visible.

Before anyone could say anything, Evangeline gathered her skirts in her hands and dove off the cliffs after Neville.

It barely the span of heartbeat before the British professors and Ginny joined the group, Snape looking far more pale than what he usually did.

"She-she jumped," Ron stammered, his hands gripping her cloak as though it were the only thing that kept him from joining its owner. "Right off the bloody cliff."

Harry's gaze was focused intently on the Potions professor, trying to decide if his face was twisted with horror or if Harry had just imagined it.

* * *

**So to make up for the last shrimpy chapter, you guys get this. **

**Neville being so damn cute in his heroism.**

**Anyhoo, I also wanted to tell you cats that review just how much I love and appreciate you. **

**You make me giddy what with your off the wall comments about everything, chaining me to my computer, excitement for the next chapters (and the smut, heehee), and encouragement. **

**If I were able to, I would hug you all and bake you cookies.**

**Well...hug you, at least. My cooking kills. **

**Mucho Mucho Love,**

**Chi**


	28. Chapter 28

"That foolish girl," Snape hissed as he looked over the cliffs and into the darkness. He tried hard to sound as gruff and hateful as he normally did, but couldn't manage to mask the fear in his tone.

Hagrid looked as though he were going to burst into tears at any given moment as he ran his hand over his scruffy beard. It was a nervous habit.

"Wh-what are we going to do?" he asked, his voice nearly cracking.

Snape shifted his narrowed gaze to the giant. "There's nothing we can do now but go down and look for their bodies."

* * *

Luna was still doing her best to comfort Hermione who was blatantly refusing anything that the strange girl might have to offer her and Ron was still staring at the cliffs in shock. 

Harry had to agree that he found Miss Delacroix's eagerness to plunge off the rocky ledge to her certain death a little less than sane.

To think that such a lovely woman, in all senses of the phrase, was gone was a tremendous blow to all present.

Even Draco felt the loss. Though his was for the sheer fact that the foreign teacher was presumably a pureblood.

Somehow the night seemed darker without the presence of Miss Delacroix.

* * *

Severus was still in shock. 

Somewhere in the avalanche of terror, he had been frozen to where he stood though he was succeeding in his attempts to retain a calm and collected image. Had he really just gained Evangeline only to have her taken from him so suddenly? Just like Lily?

His stomach was threatening Hell if he didn't calm the nerves that were raging, but never apparent, inside of him.

What had that girl been thinking? That she could save Longbottom?

Severus wanted to yank the hanks of greasy hair about his face out just so his hands wouldn't wring in worry.

His only solace came when the rational voice in his mind began to curse him, to rattle him by asking how he had been so weak as to let this woman bewitch him so. It was the only reasonable explanation as to why he was acting as he was.

Evangeline had placed some sort of spell on him.

It was in this semi-peaceful state, that Severus spotted the gray splash of a shadow that rose from the murky depths of the Black Lake.

With each foot, the shade of the creature grew lighter, brighter, and began to take on human form.

When it had finally risen high enough to step down on the cliffs, the Potions master felt as though he had been hit square in the face with a giant's club.

* * *

Evangeline knew that there would be consequences to her actions. That by revealing herself, she had cast her very life into the utmost peril. But there was no other way to save the boy Neville. 

Her blue eyes stayed locked to the ground where she laid the unconcious dark-haired student. All the while, beneath her feet small violets had began to sprout and bloom at a rapid pace.

* * *

It was eerie to see how Miss Delacroix could be used a night light, thought Harry who wasn't quite believing what he saw. 

Rumors had flown about how Evangeline Delacroix was not quite human, but he had never expected this in all his years.

"Blimey, breathed Ron in a voice that was both terrified and admiring. "She-she-she's-"

"An angel," Luna finished with her dreamy smile.

There was no denying the blonde girl's words.

If her natural beauty and incandescent skin had not been enough to clue one in, the wings would give it away.

The great feathery appendages were spread out as wide as Hagrid was tall and were whiter than the hide of a unicorn despite the brilliant crimson blood trickling along her spine through the fabric of her gown.

Evangeline was in obvious pain, but somehow Harry got the feeling that it had nothing to do with the vicious tearing of the flesh on her back.

* * *

"You're not supposed to be real!" the redheaded Ronald Weasley exclaimed almost hysterically as he pointed an accusing finger towards Miss Delacroix. 

Harry's brow furrowed. "What?"

"Angels are the Wizarding World's fairies, Harry," Hermione explained softly. "To wizards, angels aren't real."

If there was one thing he didn't understand it was how the Wizarding World could ever think that something didn't exist.

"Why?"

Luna twisted a lock of hair about her fingertip with a giddy grin, oblivious to whether the other girl was still in need of comfort or not. "They're too pure."

"I don't understand," Harry stated flatly.

In a typical Hermione gesture, the bushy haired girl rolled her eyes.

"Legend states that angels are more pure than even unicorns and to rob them of that purity warrants a punishment far greater than living a half, cursed life," she said matter-of-factly.

"What's the punishment?"

"No one knows because no real sighting of an angel has ever been recorded. What's said though is that you're better off dead."

At that, Harry looked over to Professor Snape.

The man was far paler than anyone living should be and unlike before, the horror was clearly written on his features.


	29. Chapter 29

**Okay, so updates may get a little sketchy because my freshman college classes are starting soon and I got a crap load of well, crap to do. Anyways, I had one reviewer who showed me a quote from Dumbledore about how there is no spell to bring back the living.**

**Just trust me on this one, sweets, all will be revealed in due time. :)**

**And again, thank you all so much for your support and encouragement. You don't know how much that means to me!**

**Love always,**

**Chi**

* * *

Severus couldn't believe his eyes. No, he wouldn't.

Angels were fictitious beings brought to life in Muggle tales. They didn't really exist.

No matter how much he wanted to believe those words, there was no other explanation for the ethereal creature that stood before him.

It made him sick with dread.

Though Eileen had not been much of a mother, there had been occasions in Severus' childhood where he could recall being told a story before bed or even just out of the blue.

_"Are angels real, Mum?" he had asked in his seven-year-old voice._

_Eileen snorted and shook her head. "No. Trust me, there are no such things as angels."_

Yet one stood before him. Plain as the hooked nose on his face.

Evangeline had possessed a rare sort of beauty that was apparent in every feature and gesture. Now though, that beauty wasn't warm and welcoming. It put her on a pedestal just out of his reach.

And she could just stay there. He had enough trouble as it was. He didn't need to add a "defiling an angel" curse to that list.

That sick sensation grew stronger.

"How could you?" he asked lowly, not even noticing the students and Hagrid anymore. "How could you just…"

Severus couldn't even begin to give words to the outrage and the…hurt that he felt.

"Severus," I can explain," Evangeline whispered softly. Her voice almost sounded like music.

"The lizard. This is why it came back to life, isn't it?"

Evangeline was a bit surprised that he had recalled that. But then again, no spell could bring the dead back to life so on the other hand, she could see how he would.

Dropping her eyes from him, the redheaded woman nodded as though in shame.

She had brought this upon herself. She hadn't needed to reveal her heritage to save Neville. A simple charm could have caught the boy and brought him back to safety.

"Severus, please…"

She had hoped that if she ever did let herself be known as a mythical creature, that the black-haired man would accept that fact.

Apparently, that was not to me.

"You deceived me," Severus whispered angrily.

"No, I-"

"No!"

Evangeline immediately shut her mouth.

In little more than two strides, her former mentor had her by her upper arms, all but shaking her in fury and fear.

"What's going to happen to me?" he demanded.

Evangeline mumbled her response.

"Speak up, girl!"

Was it possible to physically feel a heart break? She thought she could feel the organ crumbling inside her chest cavity.

"I don't know, okay?"

That answer seemed to make Severus angry. "But you are the legend. Surely you know what happens."

Evangeline took in a deep breath. "My mother once told me about my father, how he was cursed for what he did."

"What was the curse?" Severus sounded desperate.

"He's immortal. But he ages thrice as fast as he normally would and always will."

The pallid brow furrowed behind the curtain of stringy black hair hanging about the Hogwarts Potions master's face.

"Severus-"

"I don't want to hear anymore," Severus said in an eerily calm and detached voice. "I can't handle it."

The tears stung like citric acid on the backs of her eyes as she watched him. "Severus, wait…"

Releasing his hold on her arms, Severus Snape turned on his heel and returned to his dungeons. He felt betrayed by what he had just learned.

Evangeline hadn't really loved him or else she would have never inflicted such a terrible life upon him. Lily never would have.

* * *

With a soft sigh, Evangeline brushed the dark auburn hair from her face and took her wand from her pocket and looked around the utterly stunned audience.

"Evangeline, I had no idea you and Severus…" Hagrid began only to trail off.

She shrugged. "Not anymore."

Not ever again if she knew that man. Once crossed, he never forgave.

Hanging her head, the angel took in a deep breath and doubled over the slightest bit. Growing wings was an easier business than retracting them. It far more painful and troublesome.

The feathers molted, leaving the wrist thick appendage bare as it disappeared inch by agonizing inch into her back. After a moment that passed like eternity, she looked like any other human save for the gashes on her back that were quick to mend. Not once did Evangeline cry out.

"Miss Delacroix?"

Slowly Evangeline turned to look at the bushy haired girl called Hermione. "Yes?"

"Are you really an angel?" Hermione asked rather timidly.

With a grudging nod, the teacher lifted her wand towards the sky. "I am, but you won't recall that."

The students and Hagrid looked bewildered and confused as they watched the teacher work.

"_Obliviate maximus."_

The blanket memory charm did wonders. In moments, Harry and Draco, who had been released from his curse not long before by someone, were arguing again. This time, Hagrid broke them up while Evangeline tended to Neville who had only just woke up.

"What happened?" he asked, thoroughly confused about his surroundings.

Miss Delacroix smiled warmly. "You fell and bumped your head is all. You'll be fine with a little rest."


	30. Chapter 30

**Sorry about the delay. College called.**

**And DragonCon.**

**I've fangirled so bad. Here's a scenario:**

**"Hey Chi, is that Sna-"Chi's friend began, pointing towards a man in black on the opposite side of the crowd.**

**Chi was already clinging to the Snape guy. "ILOVEYOU!"**

**"I love you too?" the Snape guy replied with a laugh.**

**And then I proceeded to drag him about by his scarf.**

**Anyhoo, wanna know more about Chi's attacks on the poor guys (and a few girls dressed as guys) at DragonCon? Drop me a line: Love,**

**Chi**

* * *

Over the remaining weeks of the school year, the distance between Evangeline Delacroix and Severus Snape became more and more apparent.

Evangeline had slipped back into the state of being she had arrived at the school.

Snape was, well, Snape. Crotchety, onery, permanently pissed off.

It floored a few of the students, mostly Draco and his goons, who had gotten rather fond of having him in partial good cheer. When that good cheer came to a screeching halt, the Slytherins became just as "useless as the rest of them."

The same clever students who had figured out that the happiness shared by Evangeline and Snape was a product of one another also figured out that somehow they were the cause of each other's attitude reversals.

Evangeline and Severus were never caught in the same room together unless it was absolutely unavoidable, which was rare.

Sarah Carrier rubbed the bridge of her nose, hoping to somehow keep at bay the tension headache that was building. She seemed to be getting those far more frequently than ever before.

Sitting in Dumbledore's office sharing a nice spot of tea helped though. Even when they had been young, Albus had always brought a sense of peace to her that she had somehow forgotten.

Dumbledore was sitting across his desk from her, chewing thoughtfully on one of his beloved candies and stroking his beard almost absently.

"I just don't understand, Albus," Carrier breathed in an exasperated manner. "They were so happy with one another."

"You should know well that happiness can change as quickly as the tides."

Carrier frowned, not sure if Albus was referring to her ex-husband or not. Deciding to assume the later, she merely rolled her eyes. "I'm well aware, but you said that it would do Evangeline good to see her old mentor. That it'd give her life again. You know that's the only reason I'm here. I care nothing for the TriWizard Tournement."

The old man's brow furrowed slightly. "That's all?"

"And to see you of course." She hated how he could still make her feel like a silly school girl at her impressive age.

Albus seemed appeased by the answer and relaxed more in his seat. The cup of tea before him was untouched.

"Severus has been through quite a bit for someone his age," he said after a brief, thoughtful pause.

That still did not bring Carrier to budge. "He's hurt Evangeline."

"I'm well aware."

"Are you aware that means I don't give a damn what he's lived through?"

At that, Albus could not help but chuckle. Sarah Carrier had always been feisty. "I'm aware of that as well."

In a manner that far more lady-like than he had ever thought suited her, Sarah took a sip of her tea. As youths, he could recall how she could run with the toughest of the boys. Even when he knew her when they were older, around the time she got married, Albus knew her to be rather rough around the edges.

Sarah sighed and brushed a strand of her silvery hair from her face before looking to the Headmaster. A smile tugged at her lips. Albus was as handsome as she remembered him to be.

"So what are we to do with them?" she asked.

Again, Dumbledore paused, a habit she pegged on dramatic flair rather than actual thought, before he answered.

"They are adults. Let them work out their own solution."

Sarah all but scoffed. "Brilliant, now why didn't I think of that?"

Albus rolled his eyes in an uncharacteristically immature gesture as a response.

This time it was Carrier who paused before she ventured on with the conversation.

"Does he even love her?"

Dumbledore's hesitancy to answer made her frown. Albus was hardly ever hesitant. Calculating? Yes. Deceptive? Occasionally. Hesitant? Never.

"It is my belief," he started slowly, "that Severus is in love with a former classmate by the name of Lily Evans who died some years ago."

"Great," she sighed. "Another one who's stuck in the past."

Albus brought his elbows up on the desk top. His hands folded, fingers lightly resting against his upper lip, and focused his bright blue eyes on his old friend over the rims of his glasses. "You can hardly blame him, Sarah, sometimes it's better to be in the past than the present."

He waited, just to see if Sarah would catch the subtle meaning behind his words.

She didn't.

"Are you against my Evangeline being with him? I hardly think that he's man enough to properly woo her anyways."

Albus sighed as he set back in his seat again, his features not betraying a think other than amusement. Some habits were just hard to break, such as jumping conclusions.

"When will you be leaving? The final task is only next week, I trust you'll be staying?" he asked.

Carrier gave a softly wry smile. "You're far too trusting."

"Then you're leaving?"

"After the tournament."

"Ah, then my trust was not misplaced."


	31. Chapter 31

The third and final task of the TriWizard Tournament. As soon as it was over with, Evangeline could return to the states and live out her life in a faux peace. Since that night on the cliffs, she couldn't help but think about all her mother had told her in her youth, the lessons she had stressed to Evangeline to learn.

Gabrielle Delacroix was noted in the Wizarding World for her "insane" notions about souls. Notions that, in all actuality, were entirely true even if no one wanted to believe her. Evangeline could remember how she hated being teased for being a "crackpot's" daughter. For a while, she had agreed with the strangers about her mother. That was, until she learned the truth.

"Ma cher_, I do not want you to end up as I have."_

_Evangeline watched with storm colored eyes as the blonde woman lovingly stroked her daughter's hair from her unusually mature face. There seemed to be a twenty year difference between them in appearance, but even when she had been five Evangeline knew there was something unusual about her mother. _

_Now at thirteen, Gabrielle was revealing her secrets to her only heir._

"Maman_, what do you mean?"_

_Gabrielle looked pained as she looked from her daughter, still in the bright blue Beauxbaton robes she had wore home for the Christmas break, to the large window of their living room. It was one of the only things that Gabrielle had partially liked about life. They never had to want for anything thanks to the man she grudgingly called husband._

_Taking in a deep breath, the elder blonde began her tale._

"Mon tresor_, we are not like other people."_

"_I know, _Maman_, we are purebloods."_

"_Not entirely. Come, sit down," Gabrielle said, taking a seat at their rather large dining table. As soon as Evangeline followed suit, she continued. "I was born in Israel, several centuries ago to pureblood parents-"_

"_But you just said-"_

"_Patience, _cherie_, patience. Yes, they were purebloods, but not in the sense that you have been taught to use the word. My parents were…angels."_

_For a long moment, the redheaded girl said nothing, as though she were trying to wrap her mind around the concept._

"_Angels aren't real though," Evangeline finally said with a laugh._

_Gabrielle gave a weak smile and shook her head. "Evangeline, do you remember how you used to save the birds that flew into the windows?"_

"_They were only stunned. It wasn't amazing."_

"_They broke their necks. They were dead."_

_Another pause. "Then how did they revive?"_

"_You cared for them. It is a gift only a few angels possess. They are called Redeemers."_

"_Are you a Redeemer then, _Maman_?"_

"_No, I am not a Redeemer. I am a Guardian. You revive those in need of it. I merely protect them."_

_Evangeline frowned a bit and scratched her head out of nervous habit. "Then Papa is an angel too?"_

"_Far from it," her mother spat venomously. "That man is the reason we are trapped here."_

"_I don't understand."_

"_There are many myths about angels, most of which we created to keep the humans from hunting us down and exploiting us. Some though, are true. Such as the one about angels being the purest creatures in existence."_

"_What about unicorns?"_

"_They are filthy compared to us. That is why when an angel is robbed of that purity, the one who stole it suffers far more than anyone who would harm a unicorn."_

"_Why would they want to steal purity? What's the point?"_

"_Many reasons; immortality, power, wealth, the list goes on and on."_

"_What happens to them?"_

"_Oh, they get what they want."_

"_That's not fair."_

"_Of course not. Life's not fair, _ma cher_. That's why they get what they want and more than they bargained for."_

_It was clear by her expression that Evangeline was only barely following what her mother was saying, that there were thousands of questions that she wanted answered. It made Gabrielle smile. She was proud that her daughter never just accepted anything._

"_I'm going to use your father as an example," she said softly, painfully. "Remember then fairytale of Princess Lavinia?"_

_Evangeline nodded. "The celestial maiden."_

"_That's right. She was bathing and had her royal robes stolen, trapping her on earth. Her tale is similar to mine. Nearly fifteen years ago I came to earth to check up on my charge. Well, when on earth, angels have to take on human form or else our energy gets drained too quickly by the life here. With no energy we are unable to return to the heavens._

"_I was in the woods, not far from this very manor, bathing in a creek. Long story short, your father found me and stole my sacred pendent which forced me to stay with him. That pendent was my only way home."_

"_How did he know you were an angel?"_

_At that, Gabrielle seemed rather flustered. "I made the mistake of letting my guard down because I thought I was alone. After a while, wings become sore from being trapped in a human body." _

_The redhead nodded, pausing only to digest this new information on the enigmatic side of her family. _

"_What was it that he wanted?"_

_"Immortality."_


	32. Chapter 32

"_Immortality. Your father fears death."_

"_So Papa will live forever?"_

"_More or less."_

"_How?"_

"_Angels can pass their gifts along to anyone they chose. It's another myth that is unfortunately true in a sense; we can grant wishes. Your father tricked me, bartering my pendent for my immortality," Gabrielle said shamefacedly._

"_He never gave it to you."_

"_The bastard hid it from me."_

_Another pause._

"_Would you leave me, _Maman_?" asked the young woman._

_Her mother softened and reached out to take Evangeline's hand. "Never. You are the only thing I could ever appreciate Jaques for. He took so much from me, but I got you. It was all worth it."_

_That made Evangeline smile briefly before she turned serious again. "So Papa was cursed?"_

"_Yes."_

"_What was the curse?"_

"_He would live forever, but he would never retain youth. The curse worsened after he…cut off my wings."_

_Evangeline's young eyes widened. "What?"_

_That had been a fact Gabrielle had hoped to hide from her daughter. She was old enough to know though. "Your father cut my wings off shortly after you were born."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because you were an angel."_

"_So?"_

"_He wanted you to be a normal girl. He never wanted anyone to do what he had done to me to you and by cutting off my wings he hoped that it would somehow encourage you to be more…human by being nursed by one."_

"_But you're an angel…"_

"_I was born an angel. When he took my immortality and wings I became a mortal."_

_Silence enveloped them. Evangeline's fair complexion paled as the blood drained from her face. "Then that's how your purity was stolen?"_

_Gabrielle nodded solemnly. "And that's why your thirty year old father looks as though he is ninety. He will always age three times as fast as what he naturally would. Jaques will live forever, but it will be an eternity in the pain and woe of old age."_

"_Doesn't sound like much of a curse."_

"_To you it won't, but you will never know what old age is like."_

_Again Evangeline sat back and just let this new information settle. It was hard to believe, but it did make sense in a way._

_"I thought 'purity' meant 'virginity,' _Maman_," she said with a light blush._

_Gabrielle chuckled. "Many do, but it doesn't always. 'Purity' can be a number of things, but to make it more simple; if you are ever unjustly wronged, if you become a victim then purity is taken."_

_"So Papa took not only your pendent-"_

_"A forgivable act, surprisingly."_

_"-but your wings-"_

_"A crime bested only by raping an angel."_

_"-so he is damned?"_

_Gabrielle gave a sagely nod. "More or less."_

_"And what if you had willing let him 'clip your wings'?"_

_"Then he would have never been cursed."_

_"So as long as it isn't against my will, then there is no curse?"_

_"Precisely."_

_Things were becoming clearer bit by bit._

_"When you die, will you be an angel again?"_

_"Yes, but never a Guardian."_

_"Why not?" Evangeline looked a little less than pleased by this information._

_"Because you are my heir."_

_"_Maman_, are you being serious?"_

_Gabrielle chuckled and stood, rising to her feet. Before her daughter knew what was going on, the elder woman had turned her back, which was bare due to the cut of her dress, to the younger. _

_Evangeline nearly vomitted at the sight of the grotesque numbs that were extending from her mother's back which was split and bleeding. What was once no doubt lovely limbs was now no more than gnarled, greying bones and sagging flesh._

_"An angel's wings can be cut, but they never truly are gone," Gabrielle whispered. _

The rest of that night had been spent in deep discussion about all things angelic. Three years later Evangeline had come into her powers and her own wings had burst from her body unexpectedly. That experience had been unpleasant and, according to her mother, the worse emerging she had ever witnessed. Hence the hideous scars on her back.

For the first time in quite a while, Evangeline lifted her gaze to where the Hogwarts Potions master sat with the rest of the faculty. He was staring dead ahead, watching where the TriWizard Champions disappeared into the giant hedge maze that had been set up for them not too long before.

Severus' hair was hanging limply about his face, tousled only by the slight breeze. For some reason he seemed more pallid than usual. The features of his face were straining to conceal the pain and worry that for some reason plagued him.

He had never been the most handsome man. She had been pursued by many who were by far better looking, but only showed interest in her because of the unearthly beauty her angelic heritage gave her.

However, Severus was the most genuine. Not once had he tried to make himself out to be someone that he wasn't. That was something she appreciated more than anything else.

Then and only then, did Evangeline truly realize the depth of how she had hurt him. Before she had been too focused on her own pain and misery. It had been about her.

Severus had let himself get close to her. He had truly viewed her as his lover in those few short days. He had trusted her, let her know things about him that no other knew. He had been honest and open with her when she had asked.

And she had hidden the fact she was an angel from him. Sure, she could justify it with "well, you humans have been known to hunt us like wild game and use our powers in ways that they are not meant to be used." She could even use his request to bring Lily back to life to reaffirm it, but she couldn't do it with a guiltless heart.

Severus wasn't that type of man. He wouldn't betray her in a way like that.

At least, she didn't think so, which brought another realization into the light.

Rising quickly to her feet, Evangeline had every intention of going over to the man that haunted her and sorting things out properly. She was interrupted by the crowds of people around her jumping up and cheering. The champions had returned.

Momentarily deterred, the American professor looked down to the grounds not far in front of her. As a guest of honor, she had been given an ideal location to sit and wait for the winner. When her gaze found the pair of boys laying on the ground, one sobbing and the other motionless, she felt sick.

The sobbing one was clinging to the TriWizard cup and his lifeless schoolmate. He was saying something almost incoherently to the Headmaster of Hogwarts who seemed just as distraught as Harry Potter was, but for other reasons.

"He's back! Voldemort's back!" Harry managed to shout hysterically through his sobs.

Several other members of the faculty, and a man she could only assume to be the dead boy's father, had moved towards the ground in attempt to keep as much calm as possible. For a brief moment, Severus looked back to her, his black eyes unreadable as they bore into her own blue ones.

"Evangeline!"

Someone was tugging on her robes rather insistently. Evangeline turned an irate stare to her Headmistress who was looking quite fearful.

"We're leaving," she said bluntly as she began tugging the young redhead through the crowds so they could Apparate.

Grudgingly, Evangeline allowed Carrier to do so. Severus had already disappeared so there wasn't a point to her lingering.

All she could do now was hope.


	33. Chapter 33

Evangeline Delacroix rarely accepted things as they were; it was a tendency that Severus had somehow created in her and she had abandoned shortly after her epiphany at the TriWizard Tournament.

Had it not been for Headmistress Carrier, Evangeline would have returned to England not long after she had left. News from Dumbledore instilled a mild paranoia in the elderly woman that had forbade the younger from leaving the country while Voldemort was rising to power again.

"Do you realize the damage the Dark Lord could do if he ever learned of you?" Carrier asked almost fearfully.

Evangeline scoffed as she stared out the window of the Headmistress' office. "How could he? No one other than you, my mother, and Severus knows what I am."

"Severus Snape is a Death Eater. He would betray his own mother."

"Do not ever speak of him like that."

Carrier was startled by the venomous warning in the angel's tone when she spoke. Never had Evangeline sounded as she had just then. Studying the younger woman closely, the Headmistress was able to see just how bare the nerve she had touched was.

Evangeline's arms were folded tightly across her chest and her fingers were gripping her upper arms in an attempt to keep herself in check.

Releasing a tired breath, Carrier reached up and rubbed her eyes. "You really do love him."

"Always."

"Does he know?"

"No." At least, she didn't think so.

"Good."

That answer caught Evangeline off guard. "What?"

"I was not to say anything, but you need to know," her superior whispered. "Severus is a double agent for Dumbledore. His safety margin is very narrow because he has no reason to remain alive."

The redhead felt sick as she listened to what Carrier was saying.

"If Severus knew that you loved him, Eva, he would worry about keeping you alive and safe instead of focusing on his job."

"He wouldn't."

"Eva, he would. Please, don't go to him. Don't contact him. Don't even think about him."

"I never knew you could be so cruel, Sarah," Evangeline said sadly. Her stormy eyes were glassy with unshed tears over how harsh her only real friend was being. "You know I can't just abandon him."

"If you truly love him, you will."

"But-"

"I know and my orders will remain the same."

With a soft sigh, the angel looked back out the window again to the setting sun. Lazily, she stretched the wings that had been folded against her back. As fortune would have it, the only place she could really stretch her wings in the United States was in Carrier's office. "I'll keep my word, Headmistress, but my feelings are still the same. Do not expect me to make things easy for you."

"I never have," Carrier replied with a wisp of a smile.

And so life had gone on uninterrupted. Well, for the most part.

Later in that year Gabrielle Delacroix was killed by Lord Voldemort for her refusal to offer him vital information pertaining to the human soul and the connections between them.

Rumors passed that the middle aged woman had died laughing. Rumors that Evangeline figured to be true. That was just the type of woman her mother was.

With Gabrielle's death, her daughter inherited the duty of guardian angel. A job that turned out to be more vexing than what Evangeline had initially pegged it to being. Instead of just one charge, she was expected to protect and watch over several. It was on that matter that fate worked against her.

Neville Longbottom; Ginny, Bill, Fred, and George Weasley; Harry Potter; Moira O'Connell; Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa Malfoy; and Teddy Lupin, who would come later, were a few of the humans that Evangeline had to devote her live to keeping safe and well. It was a tough job, especially given the alignments of the Malfoys, but for the most part she was capable of doing it.

The only bad part about being a guardian angel to those people was that she often saw Snape. Not once did she talk to him, no matter how much she wanted to. All she was able to do was watch him.


	34. Chapter 34

The throbbing ache just behind her eyes was nearly unbearable. Could angels get brain tumors? She would have to ask her mother the next time their paths crossed.

Evangeline sighed softly at the thought. Her only family was gone. She was left to walk the world alone. To begin with it hadn't been so bad, at the very least she had Carrier to act as a surrogate mother. Then word of the death of Albus Dumbledore reached the isolated shores of the United States and Sarah Carrier fell to pieces.

It had taken months for Evangeline to coax the truth she already knew from the Headmistress. Dumbledore had been Carrier's first and only love. Yes, she had been married, but only because she had wanted a family and Albus had never expressed an interest in her that transcended friendship.

It was barely three weeks into mourning that the elderly witch had received a letter in her old friend's handwriting. He had known that he was dying and wanted to let her know that he loved her; always had and always would. In the letter he had expressed his disappointment at how she had chosen Henry, her ex-husband, over him in the end of things. For a while, the Potions professor had kept her superior on a suicide-watch. With time Carrier seemed to heal, but she knew better than to believe what she was told.

Evangeline had never known a love story as star-crossed and tragic as that of Albus and Sarah. It was enough to make her fearful of love at the same time she yearned to have Severus back, despite how evil he had apparently become. Hearts listen to no one and do only as they wish to do.

Being the guardian angel of those who were constantly around the dark man was bordering on unbearable. The temptation to just reach out and touch him, hold him, to bridge the gap between them was more than she could fight. Somehow she managed.

With an audible sigh, the angel collapsed onto the sagging couch in Carrier's office. As of late the old woman had completely submerged herself into work and research that she couldn't, and wouldn't, disclose to another breathing soul.

A sharp jolt of pain ripped through Evangeline's skull. Between teaching at the Salem Witches' Institute and protecting those who were apt to finding danger she was amazed at the extent of her powers.

"I can't take much more of this," she muttered to the empty air. Her headache was growing worse and worse. Rising to her feet, the young professor headed for the Headmistress' desk. Carrier suffered from frequent migraines and had Evangeline brewing potions to cure them on a daily basis. With any luck she would find one laying around.

The search for medicine turned up nothing or so she thought. On the brink of giving up, Evangeline spotted an envelope tucked into Carrier's thick book of Mythical Creatures and Where to Find Them. Normally she would not have invaded the Headmistress' privacy, but curiosity got the better of her when she recognized the hand writing on it.

Carrier had received a letter from Snape and didn't tell her about it?

With a frown on her face, the angel picked up the letter and read the scrawl on the outside more closely. The letter had been sent a few months before, just before Yule, from the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

She knew Severus had been made the Headmaster by Voldemort in the first year after Dumbledore's death, the anniversary of which was only in a few days, but she never thought that the two educators would actually contact one another. Carrier liked Snape just about as far as she could throw him and Snape reciprocated the sentiment.

Evangeline's hands trembled in nervous anticipation over the contents of the message she held, making it a little difficult to read.

It was quite formal, the usual for anyone who knew Severus, and cordial, not anything like the Snape she knew. He inquired about her health and whether she would be visiting the UK anytime soon. The tone she imaged the words to be in was almost taunting as it discussed Dumbledore and the things that had been going on at the school. It took her three-fourths of the page to figure out what the man was really saying and it shouldn't have surprised her as it did.

* * *

**Sorry it's been so long. College is kickin' my ass. As an apology, you get two new chapters!**

**Love,**

**Chi**


	35. Chapter 35

Sarah Carrier had been Dumbledore's successor in the schemes he and Snape had cooked up. Where many thought that every one of the former Headmaster's secrets had gone with him to the grave they were completely wrong. It made sense. The childhood friend, the love of his life, one of the few people he trusted had been given the task of seeing Severus through his task which could quite possibly involve his death.

_I may be visiting some old friends soon. You may know a few of them._

It sent chills down her spine and made her throat burn with dread. Quickly she skimmed through the words, picking out phrases that were nothing like Severus and twisting them into what they could mean.

_Before I end this note I have one favor to ask of you, Headmistress Carrier. There is a professor at your school, an angel of a woman, who I would like for you to pass my regards along to. They are in a separate letter you'll find attached. _

Evangeline couldn't feel her body as her mind and heart simultaneously tried to assume control of her being. Severus had sent her letter. He wanted to tell her something.

"You know, Evangeline, some people might take offense at you prowling through their belongings."

She gave a start at the sound of the Headmistress' voice.

"Where's the letter," the redhead demanded instantly, struggling to keep her voice from cracking when she spoke.

Carrier gave a sigh and shook her head as she walked farther into the room. "Lost."

"What?"

"Your letter never made it."

Evangeline felt herself falter with anger and hurt. "You're lying."

"As much as I wish I was, I am telling the truth. The owl that delivered the message to me had been attacked and lost the letter addressed to you."

The blue-grey eyes shifted from Carrier to the parchment Evangeline clenched desperately in her hand. Sure enough, the second page of Snape's letter trailed off onto a third that was nowhere to be found.

"How do you know what he wanted then?"

Carrier gave a light shrug as she settled herself into the overstuffed chair behind her chair. "I don't."

"Then how can you go through with the plans?"

The Headmistress went rigid at the spine. "What all do you know?"

"Enough."

"Evangeline, please don't do anything rash or compromising," the elder woman asked quickly.

"I wasn't going to. I have more pressing issues," the angel returned, clearly offended by the accusation.

Carrier nodded. "So what brings you here, by the way?"

Taking in a deep breath, Evangeline never let her gaze waver. "I'm resigning."

The Headmistress was completely taken aback. "What?"

"I can no longer teach, Sarah. I have to make a choice between this and my birth-given duties."

A long silence descended on the pair. After a moment, Carrier broke it. "Then do what you think is best, Evangeline. Just know that you will always have a place here."

The angel nodded and laid the letter from Snape on the Headmistress' desk before she moved forward to wrap the older woman in a tight embrace.

"Please don't worry for me," she asked softly.

There were tears in Carrier's eyes as she returned the hug as though she would never see the young woman again. "You know I will."

"Thank you for taking care of me for all these years."

Carrier smiled warmly as she pulled back enough to look at Evangeline. "Don't thank me. It has been a pleasure. Even when you were sulking."

Releasing the hold she had on the Headmistress, Evangeline laughed softly and moved towards the open window that let the spring breeze flow freely into the room.

"Don't worry about my belongings," she said, taking a step up onto the sill. "I've already sent them to my new home."

Sarah nodded and folded her hands across her belly, watching the younger witch with teary eyes.

The redhead gave another smile and stretched the downy soft wings on her back before looking out to the clear blue sky. It was the calm before the storm.

"Evangeline?"

She turned. "Yes, Headmistress?"

"I wanted to tell you that…if I'd ever had a daughter, I hope she would be something like you," the silver-haired witch said in a voice bursting with warmth and sincerity.

Evangeline felt a familiar sting to the backs of her eyes. With nothing more to be said between them, the angel stepped out of the window and disappeared.

For a long moment after Evangeline had gone, Carrier sat looking out the windows at the wispy white clouds.

"Find your heaven, little angel. Find it and never give it up," she whispered to the spring breeze. "Don't make the same mistake I did."


	36. Chapter 36

**This Be Yer Warning: Deathly Hallows Spoilers ahead!**

**Love,**

**Chi**

* * *

The only sound Severus could clearly hear was the beating of his own heart in his ears. How long had he been standing there just staring at the marble tomb that glowed white in the light cast by the full moon which hung low over his head.

Too long.

Far, far too long.

The chill of the spring night seemed to seep through his dark clothing and into his very skin. That wasn't the reason he felt the time he spent at the tomb of his predecessor had been too much. The reason was because there, outside the school and so close to the cliffs all he could think of was _her_.

Not the _her_ that his mind was normally absorbed in, but the _her_ that he tried his damnedest to keep locked in the farthest recesses of his mind.

It was better for him to nurse the wounds that Evangeline had inflicted; it provided him with a reason to live unafraid of death. He had nothing to live for so death was not a daunting concept. It didn't mean that welcomed it with open arms, but he certainly wasn't going to cower from it.

"I'd imagine I'll be seeing you soon, Headmaster," the dark-haired man whispered to the tomb. Slowly he reached out and let his palm rest on the cool stone as though to touch the very man he spoke to.

Even though it killed Severus to admit it to even himself, Dumbledore had been like a father to him.

After a few moments Snape drew his hand back into his robes and turned his attention to the towering structure behind him. As was expected for the late night, it was dark.

Save for a single light in a high tower.

Severus frowned. Had the Carrows followed through with their orders? He hadn't felt a sting in his arm informing him of such and he hadn't heard a commotion as he had expected given the dead silence of night that surrounded him.

Unconsciously, he cast his gaze the cliffs that held so many memories for him before turning on his heel and disappearing into the school to check on his "henchmen."

Something was about to happen. He just wasn't sure what.

* * *

For the most part Evangeline had kept close to the Malfoys who seemed to need divine protection more so than the others she had been charged with babysitting. The only one on par with the family of three was Harry Potter himself. It took time, but eventually she succeeded in securing the Malfoys' lives for the world of the living. Unfortunately during the battle with Voldemort and his Death Eaters, it was at the cost of Charlie's younger brother, Fred.

The loss left a sharp pain in her heart. She had grown to love the Weasley twins in the months she had watched over them and knew how much they meant to one another. Even more tragic was the loss of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, the parents Teddy Lupin would never know.

Deflecting the great green flash of light hurtling towards the boy she had saved some years before, Evangeline's chest constricted with no warning, making her drop to one knee as she clutched the aching part of her body. Only luck saved Ginny Weasley from meeting a nasty end since the angel had faltered.

A sharp cry was wretched from her throat as another sharp jolt of pain tore through her lungs, making it hard to breathe. What was happening to her?

It took a long moment of searching her brain before the answer came to her.

"Severus."

Casting her gaze to the dueling pair before her, the angel made a decision that could potentially end with her losing not only her job, but lives and friends as well.

Evangeline drew in a deep breath in hopes of stifling the physical pain she felt. She wasn't even sure if Severus was the cause of what she currently felt, but instinct seemed to be driving her to find him.

Which was exactly what she was going to do.


	37. Chapter 37

**Again: Deathly Hallows Spoilers Await!**

**Love,**

**Chi**

* * *

Evangeline rose unsteadily to her feet and spread the ivory wings on her back as far as she could manage. With a single strong flap, the angel had vanished from the castle. The trip itself was short, but anticipation made each second tick off the clock with the speed of an eon. Dread, fear, and hope spurred her on until at last she was able to perch on the crumbling sill of the sole window in the particular room of the Shrieking Shack she had sought out.

The figures before her were clear as day. Two men and a snake in a bubble.

Bile rose in her throat as she locked eyes with the serpent, the only creature present who could see her in her current state. Evangeline could hide herself from human eyes at her discretion, but never from animals. Nagini seemed quite unperturbed by her presence though.

In fact, the snake barely noticed the angel once her master gave her the signal to attack.

Evangeline's blue-grey eyes widened in horror as she witnessed the snake strike and the spurt of blood that flew across the room in the same manner as a tiered fountain from Severus throat.

The next few moments rushed by in a blur in which a sole thing was clear to the angel's memory. Harry revealed himself once Voldemort had left and went to Severus' side. After a short exchange, Snape breathed his last. His final request was for Harry to look at him so he could see the boy's eyes.

Lily's eyes.

Harry left shortly after, leaving the Potions Professor's body laying in the pool of blood that grew wider and thicker in the pale beams of moonlight streaming in through the same window Evangeline sat in.

Her heart had stopped. She was sure of it. There was no pulse in her veins, the blood had stilled itself; she was as dead as the dark-haired man on the wood floor. Yet she could still breathe and move. She was still alive, but not really.

Slowly, she spread her wings again and glided gently into the room to face her worst fear.

There was a haze enveloping him, like the mists of the moors had seeped beneath his eyelids and settled on his eyeballs. Bit by bit the fog of his mind and sight was cleared by a strange light. It was an eerie, yet comforting, glow that warmed his cold body.

The glow began to take shape with the dissipation of the haze.

It was a woman. A woman with fiery red hair and…white wings that seemed to cradle his body as much as what her arms were. Had he died and actually made it to what the Muggles called Heaven?

"Lily?" he croaked almost inaudibly. His black eyes opened, but saw nothing more than shapes.

Severus' blood stained Evangeline's hands and feathers though she took no notice of it. She was distracted by the hoarse whisper that curled through the silence and cut off her tears before they could form. Severus was still alive.

"It's Evangeline, Severus," she whispered in response, her hand lifting to stroke his hair back from his face. Already the blood was congealing in the black locks.

Hearing her voice somehow helped clear his vision all the way, revealing the angel to be the one he had not expected to see.

"Evangeline?"

She nodded. "I'm here."

Though he was living, it was obvious that he was still in pain. "I'm alive?"

Again, the angel nodded.

"Why did you bring me back?" he inquired. The tone of voice was tired and frustrated.

Evangeline frowned a bit. "I didn't."

He seemed surprised by the revelation. "What?"

"Humans aren't plants or animals. I can't just bring them back on a whim," she said, still stroking his hair.

It was a bit shocking to her how he had yet to struggle against her embrace, but merely laid there and allowed it. He was regaining strength with each moment and could easily shove her away.

"Then why am I still here?"

"Your soul must have drawn on my energy to revive you."

A pause. "Why?"

Evangeline took in a deep breath and finally broke her gaze from his. Bringing the hand away from his hair, she rested her palm on the wound Nagini had caused. Almost instantly the flesh, veins, and muscles began to rebuild themselves.

"Evangeline…tell me," Severus said, looking up to her with what was as pleading an expression as he could manage, she imagined.

With a soft sigh, the angel reluctantly gave into him.

"There's something that ties you to this world."


	38. Chapter 38

The meaning of the words took a full minute to sink into his mind. There was something tying him to the world of the living? Impossible! Severus Snape had nothing to live for on earth.

His usual frown took its rightful place on his lips when he could think of no reason for being there.

"Are you sure?" he asked, finally sitting up with a soft groan.

Evangeline nodded. Her expression was guarded, stoic, as she let her arms drop away from the dark-haired man. "Quite. Your soul lingered in your body because you willed it to. Your spirit has left you though, that's why your heart isn't beating."

"What's the difference?"

"Everything has a spirit; it's what makes the body live."

Severus' frown deepened. "And you're telling me that my soul remained in my body?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I just bleeding told you," the angel snapped softly as she rose to her feet.

For a long moment Severus looked up to the woman he had not seen in many a day through narrowed eyes. She could be lying to him. Or was this the curse that had been inflicted on him?

"I have no reason to remain in this world."

The aggravation was written clearly on Evangeline's face as she stared down to him. Her blood-stained wings were folded against the black fabric of her robes in an attempt to hide them from sight. She knew he still wasn't comfortable with that fact about her and tried to make coping with it as easy as possible for him at the moment.

"Whatever makes you feel better," she sighed as she folded her arms across her chest.

Silence enveloped them as Severus climbed to his feet. He still stood nearly a head over the angel, but that didn't seem to bother her at all. Evangeline had always been a fool like that. Fearless, stubborn, proud.

"Why are you here?" he asked at long last in a tone as sharp and cold as an Artic wind.

Evangeline seemed to tense at the sudden inquisition. Good. He wanted her to be uncomfortable around him. Especially after what she had done to him.

She set her jaw and lifted her chin to stare up into his piercing black eyes almost challengingly. "I was looking after my charges. _Angel business._"

Snape snorted and turned for the door. Just the word _angel _seemed to rile him up.

Evangeline only watched as the professor made his exit. She should say something. She could make things better. Severus wouldn't believe her though. He believed only what he wished to and held grudges longer than any person should.

Let him go.

With a soft sigh, the redhead turned as well and walked back to the window that she had entered in. She had work to do. The love of her life was still alive and about to walk out of her life again, but she had bigger problems than that. There was a war going on out there that hinged on how well she did her job.

* * *

The shadows outside the door were a perfect place for the former teacher to take a moment and look back to Evangeline, who had spread her wings and climbed onto the window sill. She took a moment to look in the direction that he had disappeared to before gliding out into the open air.

Snape's shoulders slumped the slightest bit. A part of him had hoped that she would come back for him. It was a ridiculous notion, but it hadn't stopped him from hoping.

In his many years he should have known better than to hope. Hope begot nothing but disappointment and sorrow.

Evangeline had never loved him and never would. She was an angel.

Humans didn't want him; why would a divine creature?

The way he figured, he was cursed and it had nothing to do with stolen virginity. That was what tied him to this plane of existence, it had to be.

Severus Snape had nothing to live for other than a penance he apparently owed to the world.


	39. Chapter 39

Severus Snape wasn't sure why coming to the United States had been such a brilliant plan, but he was sure that it was going to be the second death of him.

Getting into the country itself had been a pain in the neck due to the intense isolationism that was still being practiced despite the fact that Voldemort had fallen. Now that he was finally there, it didn't seem worth it.

He could have stayed in Britain and run the daily risk of being discovered by the Ministry of Magic. That would be a fun escapade. He could already picture himself standing before the Wizengamot trying to explain A) The plan Dumbledore had concocted and B) How he had managed to walk the earth when there was undeniable proof of his death.

Still, those reasons had little to do with his traveling.

Something else had spurred him to the uncouth shores of the U.S. Even worse still; to the southern half of the country. He had never been there before, but he had heard tales of the strange magics practiced here.

And of how they were centered from the city of New Orleans.

It seemed that the southern French port city was home to more sorcery than Salem, Massachusetts, had been during the witch trials. As intriguing a fact as that was, it still had nothing to do why he was there. At least he didn't think it was.

But he had been wrong before, even if he would never admit it aloud, and he was more than likely going to be wrong again.

The Muggles that milled about him on the semi-crowded path which bore the sign of "Peters Street" didn't seem to be phased in the least bit by his unusual garments or piecing stare. In fact, a lot of them seemed to be entertained by his appearance and asked to have their picture taken with him, whatever that meant.

Stalking down the street in his Snape manner, Severus was rather relieved to catch the scent of fresh herbs on the breeze tainted by the distinct odors of urine, garbage, and those made by the contraptions Muggles called "cars." An open market.

It was almost enough to bring a smile to his face. Almost.

He had found the stall where the herbs were being peddled by an elderly Asian woman with down-white hair and many lines on her face and wasted no time in studying the plants. They weren't as fresh as he had hoped they would be. No matter, he had no currency on his person that the Muggles would accept anyways.

Turning on his heel, Severus stopped dead in his tracks, mid-sweep of the cloak that was truly impractical of the humidity of the American South. He would have been less surprised if Voldemort had been standing before him. Less than fifteen meters away at a fruit stall stood a red-haired woman.

Evangeline Delacroix wasn't looking in his direction, but he would be able to pick her out of a crowd until he ceased to exist.

For once she didn't wear the gowns and robes common to the Wizarding people. Instead she had on Muggle clothes he had sometimes seen the students of Hogwarts wear in their free time. The black gauze skirt flowed about her long legs like liquid and the bright purple blouse was without a back, exposing the jagged scars that marred her ivory flesh.

Her hair was left down to fall about her shoulders in lovely cascades of mahogany auburn waves that shone like firelight in the sunshine.

Had Evangeline drawn him here?

If she had, she didn't seem to realize it. Her attention was focused completely on the round, ripe peach she held in her hand. A soft smile on her lips, she handed a few silver coins to the man running the stall and turned to move on to another vendor.

Her progress stopped when her blue-grey gaze met the familiar black one through the people that gradually ceased to be to her. Severus was there. In New Orleans. Staring at her.

Snape's eyes never shifted from Evangeline's, but he knew that the fruit she held had fallen from her fingers and rolled away across the filthy ground to be smashed by the feet of other people who had to be there, but he couldn't see at the moment.

The world vanished in the presence of the angel and he hated it.

In the year he had spent wandering Europe to find what tied him to this world he had hoped to kill the nonsensical ideas he had of him and Evangeline. Try as he might though, he couldn't.

Especially not when he saw her in more than memories.

* * *

**Bomchickawawa.**

**Sorry for the extended absence and the crappy 38 chapter. Hopefully this makes amends. IFREAKINGLOVEYOUGUYS! **

**So, Snape in New Orleans? Just something I thought would be entertaining given that this would have been set roughly four years after the make of Interview with the Vampire. **

**And just in case someone gets offended by me insulting the South; chill. I'm a Southern belle through and through who adores New Orleans (I wanna move there after college). **

**Love,**

**Chi**


	40. Chapter 40

Seconds stretched into minutes and the minutes faded into a moment that lasted far longer than any before had. Evangeline had that effect on him and if he hadn't been dead it would have killed him.

"Severus…"

His name was nothing more than a whisper on her lips that he had to read, but swore he could hear. The sound of her voice was seared into his memory to the point that he didn't have to physically listen to hear it.

Neither of the magical beings made a move towards one another or anywhere else, but seemed content to stand in the crowd of Cajuns, immigrants, and tourists just staring at one another. No words were needed yet.

Soon, but not yet.

Evangeline's heart had skipped several beats when she first laid eyes on Severus in the French Market. He had managed to find her somehow. She had completely withdrawn from the Wizarding World, but he had still located her. It was impressive no doubt, but troublesome all the same.

The sensation of a warm touch on her lower back jolted the angel back to reality. Who the devil dared to lay their hands on her?

Turning her head, Evangeline's eyes widened a bit to find the hazel gaze of a tall Creole man with dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. She had completely forgotten that she had come to the market with Jacques.

A few months before had she met Jacques Soileau, a young and wealthy club owner who had instantly taken a liking to the angel. Against her heart's wishes, she had dated the man and grew to return his affections in a fashion far more muted than his own.

"Are you ready to go home?" Jacques asked the redhead in a lightly accented voice with a warm, magazine-worthy smile.

Evangeline forced a smile in return and nodded, giving a backwards, poignant glance to Severus. "Yes."

* * *

Severus watched with a frown and aching chest as the angel and the stranger moved away from the French Market hand in hand. He hadn't caught it before, but now that he paid attention the diamond ring on her third left finger was clearly visible.

Evangeline had left him behind.

It was a blow that he could barely take, but should have expected. There were no such things as fairy tales and he was destined to be alone.

Evangeline Delacroix. Lily Potter.

Lily Potter…the woman he had once loved more than his own life. He had finally seen her again after so many of years of being separated when he died.

_The afterlife was an unusual place that resembled a train station in Severus' mind. There were even benches situated beside tracks. On one of which was seated a redhead in a dark blue sweater and jeans. _

_As he approached it became clear that the waiting woman was no other soul but Lily Potter. Hearing his footsteps, the deceased woman turned and looked to him with a bright smile._

"_Hello Severus," she greeted warmly, not making a move from her seat._

_Severus wasn't sure what he should say for a long moment. "Lily, I-"_

"_Shh. There's no need for apologies, Severus. I already know what you're going to say."_

"_Then why are you-"_

"_I've watched you everyday for seventeen years. Seventeen years, Sev. That's a rather nice piece of time to be pining; don't you think?" Lily asked softly._

_Severus nearly cringed. "Then you know?"_

"_I always knew."_

_That caught him off guard. "Then why desert me?"_

"_Because I was in love with James. Despite the fact he was a bully and git at the time. He was my soul's match."_

_The silence allowed Severus the time he needed to absorb these facts in entirety. He was shocked to discover that hearing Lily herself say she loved James over him didn't hurt as much as he though it would._

"_So why is it you're here?" the Potions master finally asked. _

_At that Lily's smile turned as warm and soft as ever as she rose to her feet. "To stop you from making a terrible mistake."_

"_I don't understand…"_

"_You're not meant for this world yet, Sev. You're still needed on earth."_

That was all he could recall from the trip to limbo. To this day he didn't understand what Lily meant when she said he was still needed in this world. It didn't make sense.

But even Evangeline had said that there was something tying him to this world. For a brief period he thought it may have been the angel that kept him there, but it was as clear as the affection she showed towards her beau that this wasn't the case.

His frown still set firm to his lips, Severus turned to leave as well, but found he couldn't. He wouldn't.

Not when his answers were walking away in a different direction.

* * *

**Dumdiddydumdum...**

**Love you guys. New chapter soon! **

**And I think I'm seeing a finale soon too!!**

**Which is hilarious because this tale started off as thirteen chapters.**

**Love,**

**Chi**


	41. Chapter 41

Before he could realize what he was doing, Severus turned once again and wove his way through the people that stood between him and Evangeline, completely disregarding the fact that he was half-shoving most of them out of the way in his desperation to get to her. He had to keep up with her.

The pair climbed into one of the Muggle vehicles that was painted an eye-stinging yellow before Severus could reach them. In the blink of an eye, they were lost to the traffic of New Orleans.

Severus stood on the street corner for a long moment, frustration and despair radiating from him like the sun with its light. Now what was he supposed to do? He knew absolutely nothing about this city or where Evangeline may be living.

Fate was still against him. It had been his entire life. For the first time though, he wasn't going to accept the cards fate had dealt him.

It was time that he make his own destiny.

* * *

A fortnight of scouring the French city had turned up nothing. Still, Severus was not deterred.

He would find Evangeline if it took until the end of time. He had lost Lily, he'd be damned before he let history repeat itself.

Seated on a stoop that smelt suspiciously like blood and urine, Severus took in his surroundings with a meticulous eye. He had been in this part of the city before.

Just off of Royal Street, it was a small neighborhood hidden from prying eyes by wrought iron fences and tall brick walls topped with broken glass bottles. He had found the bottles peculiar until he realized it was a crude, yet effective, way of keeping intruders out of the courtyards of the residents.

So far he found no sign of Evangeline Delacroix. No one seemed to know who she was. It was a frustrating game of Hide and Seek that he had come close to abandoning a time or two. However, his stubborn nature refused to let him give in.

The dark robes he wore were fraying and covered in dust. An upside to being dead was that his body didn't secrete fluids such as sweat or oil. Otherwise he would have smelt dreadful after all this time in the Southern heat and humidity.

His covered arms were draped over his knees, leaving his hand to hang limply since he had nothing else to do with them.

Glancing up from the street, Severus looked at the brick wall which could have been older than Dumbledore had been. Vines spilled over the top in an emerald cascade of foliage dotted by small yellow blossoms.

_Honeysuckle._

The sight of the small blossoms roused the memory of Evangeline's scent. She had always smelled of honeysuckles.

Slowly, the dark man lifted himself from the stench of the stoop to cross over to the sweet scented vines. As soon as his foot hit the pavement of the curb he could smell it.

It was like stepping back through time.

Back to when he had Evangeline. Back when she wanted him…

How could he have been such a fool to turn her away? Yes, she had cursed him, but it had been worth it just to hold her.

Laughter brought his thoughts back to the walled courtyard before him. It trickled through the spaces of the wrought iron fence to his left and lured him like gold to a goblin. The sound was melodic and serene and eased the strife of his world.

Severus drew closer to the tall gate without conscious thought. He didn't even hesitate in raising his wand to unlock the heavy metal lock that kept the gate firmly to the fence.

All around him were flowers and plants of every color, shape, and scent. Roses, jasmine, lilies, honeysuckle; everything.

A stone walkway cut a path through the garden courtyard to the door of a rich looking townhouse. It wound to the side though to keep the yard as open as possible, which was a hard task to do considering the weeping willow that stood proudly in the patch of grass that looked so out of place in a city like New Orleans.

Wordlessly, thoughtlessly, Severus strode along the path until he could part the hanging branches of the tree like a curtain to peer into the small area that was sectioned off from the rest of the world.

He paused when his eyes found the cushioned bench swing that hung from chains on a thick branch of the willow. Seated barefoot on the swing was none other than the woman he had been searching for.

"Evangeline."

* * *

Evangeline Delacroix jumped as the deep, dark voice cut through the tranquil silence of the garden. She had been too lost in the book that lay in her lap to realize that another person had joined her. Nicholas Sparks knew how to write a novel.

But even Mr. Sparks wouldn't have been able to write a turn of events such as this.

Standing before her, back-dropped by the sunshine and willow leaves, was none other than Severus Snape. He had found her. It hadn't taken him as long as she thought it would have either.

The indigo fabric of her sundress rustled as she turned to put her bare feet in the soft grass. Putting her book aside, the red-haired angel kept her blue gaze locked to that of her one-time mentor and tried to find something to say.

"Severus, what are you doing here?" she finally managed to ask.


	42. Chapter 42

**Alright kiddies, the only way to truly get the whole feel of this chapter is to listen to Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls while reading. **

**Much love,**

**Chi**

* * *

Snape didn't reply for a few moments, but drank in the sight of her. It had been a year since he had seen her last.

Well, more than that, actually. It had really been one year, three months, two weeks, four days, and seventeen hours.

"I…don't know," Severus lied softly.

Evangeline watched him in silence before she rose to her feet and folded her arms across her chest. "Oh?"

He paused. "You cursed me."

The expression on the angel's face was one of pure irritancy mixed with hurt. All this time and he had yet to change...

"That's all you can think of, isn't it?"

"No."

His answer had caught her completely off guard.

"What?" Evangeline asked, rather stunned.

Severus walked forward slowly as he spoke. "You are without a doubt the most insufferable, complicated, infuriating creature I have ever had the misfortune of crossing paths with."

He stopped his steps when Evangeline was close enough for him to feel her breath fall almost insolently against his chest. Her eyes snapped stormy fire as she watched and waited for him to continue. It was what he had always admired her for.

What he once thought to be foolishness was bravery.

"And I am utterly and absolutely taken with you for it," the dark man finished in an uncharacteristic whisper.

There was no way for Evangeline to respond to a confession such as that with real sense. It was impossible.

"I'm getting married…" she said almost dumbly, still stunned by Severus' words.

"Do you love him?"

The sharp tone of Snape's voice brought the angel's defensive instinct to life.

"I beg your pardon, but I don't see how that's any concern of yours." Severus'd had his chance.

The gleam in his eyes was defiant and pleading all at once as he stare down to her. "Answer me, Evangeline, and I will never ask another thing of you."

"Why does it matter, Severus?" the angel asked.

The former Potions master grew silent as he struggled with the decision he as about to make.

"It matters because you are what keeps me in this world, Evangeline," he said at long last.

Once again, Evangeline was stunned. "What?"

The façade that Severus worked so hard to keep in place crumbled before her eyes as he reached out to hold her upper arms. It wasn't until then that she realized how sorely she had missed his touch.

"I have spent my entire life seeking someone who was seeking me in return. All I have ever wanted was to be loved so much that I spent half of that life pining over a woman who would never care for me like that."

Evangeline stood in complete silence, just waiting for him to finish saying what he needed to convey.

"It has taken me fifteen years to realize that you are the one I've been looking for…" Severus said rather softly, his hand raising to cup the side of her face tenderly like he had in days long passed. "I would forsake eternity if it meant one day with you. Tell me to leave, tell me that you don't love me, and I will walk out of your life and let you live in happiness for the rest of your days."

The tears that spilled from the corners of Evangeline's eyes ran along the rough skin of his palm. He seemed to have that bad habit of making her cry when he was near.

"Severus, don't you understand that the only way I could ever be happy is if I'm with you?" she whispered, her own hand coming up to rest on his. "I agreed to marry Jacques as an attempt to fill the void your absence left."

"Did your plan work?"

"Of course not. You're the sole man I ever have loved and ever will."

"And Jacques?"

Evangeline offered a soft, poignant smile. "His touch feels nice, but your's is the only one that feels right."

Snape offered no response so the angel continued.

"But Severus, I can never be with you until you let me."

"I love you," he said in a low rush.

The angel closed her eyes to savor the words she would have given up heaven to hear. "Do you mean that?"

"I want you to be the last thing I see at night and the first thing I see in the morning. I never want to have to go a single day without seeing your smile or hearing your voice. I would give you all I have and anything you wish."

"Will you let me love you?"

"For the rest my life and beyond."

The smile on Evangeline's face brightened as she rose onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to Severus'. Just as she had stated earlier, nothing felt more like it was meant to be than Severus Snape in her arms.

The Potions master's tense muscles relaxed noticeably as Evangeline kissed him. The relief and joy that washed over him couldn't compare to the worst of tsunamis. Eagerly, Snape wrapped his arms about her waist and pulled the angel's body flush to his.

Each moment that passed with the lovers embracing one another gave way to a faint beat in Severus' chest. The longer they held the kiss, tears trailing over both of their cheeks, the stronger the beat of Snape's heart grew until it matched Evangeline's in rhythm.

Severus Snape had found his soul's match in an angel.

His angel.

This is what Lily had meant. It had to be.

Evangeline needed him as he needed her. He had been a fool before, but now he had the chance to show her that fairy tales existed. And that true love, no matter how long it took to find it, did in fact conquer all.

Even death itself.


	43. Chapter 43

**Epilogue**

**Twelve Years Later**

Neville Longbottom watched the new group of students talking amongst themselves regardless of their houses. They were still so young and fresh to the ways of Hogwarts.

It was the first few weeks of school for the first years that he enjoyed the most. Before the rivalries set in and the colors of the tie you wore truly mattered in anything.

Smiling warmly to himself, Professor Longbottom let his gaze travel over the group. They were all so full of life and happy.

Well, save for a lone Slytherin seated towards the back of the small room adjacent to the Herbology green houses.

The book she held was so large it almost succeeded in hiding her from sight. The young girl reminded Neville much of himself at that age. That fact aside though, there was something familiar about her.

Her hair was blacker than polished ebony and pulled back from her ivory face into pigtails that fell past her shoulders. In passing, her demeanor seemed nothing like a Slytherin's, but there was no denying that the tie, which was mostly tucked into her robes, was silver and green.

"Lexi!"

The girl's attention snapped up from her readings to look at the one who had called her name.

Neville knew the one who spoke in the beat of a heart.

Victoire Weasley.

There was no denying that the little girl with the strawberry blonde hair was none other than Ron Weasley's niece.

Lexi, as the girl had been called, smiled and set aside her book to listen as her friend talked non-stop about something Neville couldn't make out.

With a chuckle at the thought of Fleur Delacour and how much her daughter was like her, Neville turned his attention to the roster in his hand.

On the list there was no "Lexi" but an Alexandra Prince.

Prince…he'd never met anyone with that name before. But he was sure that somehow he knew Lexi.

* * *

It wasn't until later in the day that Neville realized how he knew the girl. 

Her eyes. Alexandra's eyes were the same eyes from a dream he once had. It was a nightmare of how he had plummeted off the cliffs towards the Black Lake and was caught by an angel that looked a lot like the American professor Evangeline Delacroix.

Neville smiled to himself as he watched his class of first-years hurry from the room to their next classes.

So Professor Delacroix had found her happiness after all. Hagrid would be thrilled. The giant of a man had often talked about how he wished that the American teacher would have kept in touch with him. Neville reminded him just as often that between Olympe (who had retired a few years before) and his classes, he would barely have the time to return the letters she might send him.

Retiring to his office, Professor Longbottom took a seat and folded his hands behind his head. It was unusual to see the children of people he knew in his classes, but was grateful for it. It braced him for when his classmates' children would begin school.

"Merlin help us once Harry's kids get here," he said to himself with a chuckle. "Hogwarts might not be able to handle it."

* * *


	44. Chapter 44

The sunshine that streamed in through the open window had roused Severus from the deep slumber he had been enjoying in the thick down covers of the four-poster oak bed. The bed sat in the middle of the bedroom that was decorated in soft blues and greens. On the walls various pictures hung, proudly displaying some of his best memories.

He had hoped to drift back into sleep, but found his hopes were dashed when the lithe body of an eight-year-old landed on top of him.

Severus grunted in response to the weight that fell on him full force and groggily opened his black eyes to peer up to his son.

"What do you want, boy?" he asked in a voice that was not sincerely gruff.

The red-haired boy laughed and slid quickly from the bed to land on his socked feet on the hardwood floor. "_Maman_ sent us to tell you that breakfast is ready."

Slowly, Severus rolled onto his side to look towards the open bedroom door just in time to see his son leading a girl with hair the shade of corn silk back to the kitchen. He smiled as he watched them and even after they were out of sight.

It took a few moments, but eventually Severus hoisted himself from the bed to dress and join his family.

Evangeline had porridge, toast, and eggs set on the large round table that took up most of the space of the small dining room. His wake-up calls were already seated, munching happily on pieces of toast that were completely covered in jam and butter.

"Albus, Gabriella, please chew with your mouths closed," their mother chided as she wiped her hands on a dish towel that once hung out of the pocket of her old white apron.

The children laughed and nodded in response.

Severus watched the whole scene with a placid smile.

"Albus, have you seen your brother and sisters?" Evangeline asked, looking out the open kitchen window.

Albus shrugged to show he had in fact not, but the gleam of his dark blue eyes gave away some form of mischief. "Nope."

The blonde girl at his side giggled. Though she was two years her brother's junior, Severus knew the two of them to be as thick as thieves.

Turning, Evangeline finally spotted her husband and gave a smile of relief and greeting. "Severus, would you please find our missing offspring?" she asked, walking over to give his cheek a quick peck. Over the years they had both mellowed out quite a bit, but Severus knew that the angel was still a spitfire.

"Of course."

It wasn't a long search. Ten minutes tops. And when Severus found the remaining three children, he would have laughed had he not been irritated with his eldest son.

At the end of the lane that led to the cottage on the cliffs, Albus had somehow tricked his youngest siblings into taking booby-trapped gifts that left them bound and gagged in what looked to be spiderwebs.

Not only that, but apparently he and Gabby had put a sign out alongside of them that read "Free to a good home."

Taking out his wand, Severus freed the two girls and boy and knelt down beside them to help them up.

Tear trails led over the cheeks of Soren and Theodora, the youngest daughter, letting Severus know that some petting would be needed in order to coax them back to the house.

Lillian though, just a year younger than Gabriella, didn't seem to want anything more than to get back home and get revenge on her brother and sister.

"I'll- I'll- I'll turn them into frogs!" the little red-head said spunkily. Even at her young age, it was clear to both her parents she would grow up to be not only a bright witch, but a brilliant girl in general.

"And then they'd give you warts," Severus said almost amusedly as he watched his daughter stomp angrily back up the lane. In either arm he carried Dora and Soren, both of whom were pacified and falling back asleep.

Lillian stopped and looked up to Severus with a narrowed grey gaze. "Would they?"

"They just tried to give you to strangers. Don't you think they'd give you warts if they were frogs?"

Her silence was enough to let him know that she hadn't thought of that.

At the end of their hike back to the cottage, Lillian sat down to eat just as Albus and Gabby were going off to play.

Severus took his youngest children to the nursery they shared with Lillian and put the snoozing toddlers to bed before he went to have a bowl of porridge with Evangeline.

The angel sat, as she often did, in a rocking chair beside the window with a cup of Muggle coffee in her hands. Though she retained her youth much as he did now, Evangeline's eyes spoke volumes about the wisdom she possessed. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun that left a few wisps of her dark auburn hair to fall about her fair face. The dress she wore was the same shade of blue as the sky she was looking at and belted by the old apron given to her by Headmistress Carrier many years before.

Severus couldn't remember when she had ever looked so beautiful.

"Lexi sent an owl this morning," she said, shifting to look at her husband and interrupt his thoughts. "She said she's made friends with a Weasley and got sorted into Slytherin."

Snape smiled to himself and stirred the porridge before him to help the butter in it melt. "Does she like it?"

"She loves it."

"Good."

"_Maman_, Daddy, when will I get to go to Hogwarts?" Lillian chimed through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

Evangeline chuckled. "Six more years, _ma chere._"

The little redhead pouted briefly before polishing off her eggs and rushing off to join Albus and Gabby whose earlier transgressions had apparently been forgotten. Lillian was definitely her mother's daughter.

Hearing the door shut, the ethereal woman Severus had married so many years before set aside her coffee and rose to her feet. It was apparent by the circles under her eyes that she was already tired from keeping a leash on six children, but from the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips plainly stated that she wouldn't trade it for anything.

"What is on your agenda today?" Severus asked as he pushed his chair back from the dining table.

Evangeline gladly took the invitation and sat down on her husband's lap and leaned into his chest to wrap her arms about his shoulders. "The same thing as always, love."

"Go take a nap. You look exhausted," the dark-haired man whispered lovingly.

"But-"

"I'll keep an eye on the children. Go rest."

Needing little more persuasion, Evangeline lifted herself up enough to place a warm, gentle kiss on Severus' lips before disappearing into the bedroom they shared. No sooner was she gone though, a resounding "bang" shot through the window closely followed by a girlish cry of anger.

Severus gave a soft sigh and abandoned his breakfast to go remedy the new problem no doubt presented by Albus.

Since he had gotten Evangeline back in New Orleans from the man called Jacques (who died shortly after due to some dealings with the wrong sort of people) Severus' life had changed drastically. He married a spitfire angel who had no fear in her to do her any good and produced six children with a knack for running their parents batty.

It wasn't a fairy tale in any sense.

It was better.

* * *

**Well, it's been a good run of things.**

**For all of you who have stuck through all of this, I greatly appreciate it.**

**For all of you who have been dedicated reviewers, I love you guys.**

**I'm going to miss this story and hearing from all you astounding cats, but it had to end eventually. **

**This won't be the end of me though. I'll be back with more crazy stories. There's too many open windows. So check back from time to time. You might find something that you like.**

**Now good-night sweet princes and princesses. **

**Love always,**

**Chiyo Thyra**


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